Senses of Darkness
by When the Moon Met the Sun
Summary: Nicole is a girl with an unusual ability, a dark past, and a resentful bakugan. She must team up with the Brawlers to end Naga's plans and confront her own demons. ShunxOC
1. Chapter 1

_Ok now I'm starting another story._

_Everyone is 12 y.o. (except Marucho…he's 11.)_

_Pairings will be revealed at some point later on._

_Disclaimer: Cocoacharm15 does not own Bakugan or any other plot scenarios, but I do own Nicole and any future characters of my own design. _

As I awoke seconds before the alarm clock went off I knew it was going to be a bad day. How did I know? I could have attributed it to my supposed psychic ability. And then there was the fact that it was Monday. Even during summer vacation, Mondays usually weren't fun. Either way it didn't matter. Even if my day was horrible, Zora was out to make it worse.

The clock sounded noisily, and I hastily shut it off. I quickly chose an outfit—jeans and a tight green shirt—and headed downstairs. I tiptoed through the hall, praying that Zora had decided to run away—or should I say, waddle away. No such luck as I walked into the kitchen and found the darkus Bakugan staring at the television screen.

I wasn't interested until she called my name out sharply. "Nicole!" Mechanically turning to face the screen I saw what was bothering her. A giant hole had appeared in the middle of the ocean near a town called Wardington. A plane headed over the gap, and I immediately realized what was happening. Whoever was in the plane was going to go in there.

_Maybe that was a bit short, but I assure you it will get better… I hope…_

_Anyway, please review. I'd like to know what you people think _


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok, here is chapter 2_

_Remember, I don't own Bakugan. Oh and review please!_

**CHAPTER 2**

I don't really understand why I grabbed Zora, tossed her into my purse, rushed out of our summer house, and told the chauffer to drive me to the docks. (My parents could care less where I was during the summer; they trusted me… most of the time.) I didn't even bother packing much. The drive seemed to drag on as I was anxious to get to that city quickly.

For once, Zora did not criticize, complain, or ask questions. Quite surprising, actually. The Bakugan merely jumped out of my bag and onto my shoulder.

Marty, my driver, headed south once we reached the edge of town. At this time of day—the cool early morning—the dock was packed with people boarding their boats and making last minute arrangements before going out to sea. Sensing them before I could actually run into anyone, I followed Marty to a shiny white yacht at the end of the bay.

Good thing he was also experienced with boats because I did not have time to look for someone else to take me to Wardington. I relayed my destination to him letting impatience show in my tone. Then I sensed that I had some bad news coming my way.

"Miss Adams, I know you are in a hurry, but I regret to inform you that the trip will take at most three days," he stated, head bowed.

"Oh," I said, feigning surprise, "well, I suppose I'll be in the living quarters then." I headed into the rather spacious area and closed the door, sighing deeply. The instant we were alone, I anticipated Zora's need to whine.

"You know, we'd have arrived much sooner had we taken a plane." She told me, evidently miffed.

"Yes, but you know I have a problem with flying." I replied, equally annoyed with her though what she said was true. For some reason I hated the feeling of being thousands of feet up in the air. Heights didn't bother me so much as long as I knew I could descend at any time.

The darkus Bakugan snorted in response. "James wasn't afraid," she muttered loud enough for me to hear.

Though I expected her to say something hurtful—as always—it brought tears to my eyes. The conversation was over. Zora expected me to feel sad and maybe guilty. And I did.

We reached Wardington sooner than expected, in only two days. The sun was shining, but everything seemed tense and alert. Even Marty—old, fragile, butler Marty—had the feeling that things were off.

"Something is very wrong here, as I assume even you can gather," she mentioned coldly as we stepped off the boat and headed toward the city. Along with the insult to my intelligence, my Bakugan proved my suspicions right. There was a problem—of which we had no knowledge of at the time— and judging by all the children carrying Bakugan on the docks, we'd made the right choice in coming.

"Excuse me!" I called to a girl walking past me, holding an Aqaos Bakugan. Her brown eyes widened as she saw me, and instead of stopping, she hurried away.

'_That was weird._' I thought to myself. Zora offered no explanation, but I sensed that she knew.

Well, if no one would talk to me, then I'd head into the city. I quickly looked over the city, trying to decide what direction to go in. From where I was standing, the tallest building was a large tower that appeared to be in the center of Wardington. That seemed to be as good a place as any, probably just because it stood out from everything else.

"We should stay here. The opening was in the ocean, not the city. It'd be foolish to leave."

I glanced at my shoulder, waved goodbye to Marty, and stalked off en route to that tower. Zora protested furiously as I evaded the workers and children. Seeing as I was the one carrying her, I believed it was my right to choose. Obviously, she did not.

"You're making a mistake, Nicole! Do you honestly expect to find answers there? Think for once in your life!" She yelled at me, trying to make me see sense, as she put it.

"Yes, I do." I answered without emotion. Sooner or later, Zora would use her secret weapon to convince me, but it wouldn't work. I'd tuned her out after a while. Besides, I was already preoccupied with the strange looks other Bakugan players were giving me. It bothered me because, though I'd met other players before, none had ever given me the bizarre glances, almost glares.

It was in the next few moments that everything changed, and I was tossed into the center of the Bakugan problem.

The downtown streets were crowded, and Zora immediately tensed because of something I hadn't sensed yet. She turned to stare behind me, and I followed her gaze till my eyes fixed upon the six figures running toward us. They were close enough that I could listen to what they were saying. I ducked into an alley, catching some words from them.

"…Vestroia energy source was coming from this direction," I heard a deep voice say.

"Yeah, I hear you Drago, but what is it? One of Naga's underlings?" another male voice asked.

"It must be," a female voice choked out. "The Infinity core is attempting to leave me." She seemed to be resisting something. I shot a questioning look at Zora, but she didn't answer. The group had slowed down from what I could distinguish, but they were closing in on the alley. My heart rate picked up, and I sensed them looking into the lane I was hiding in.

"It is coming from the alley," another deep voice informed the crew.

Zora jumped in place from my shoulder and whispered, "Act normal, we don't know what they want from us." I nodded nervously. I knew they were going to find us, but I couldn't control myself. I flattened my hands against the bricks behind me, and took slow, shuddering breaths.

Shadows fell across the dirt, and I raised my head, locking eyes with a brown-eyed boy my age. He stepped back, as did the others, but I never lost eye contact. My face was composed, while my insides were the complete opposite.

"Drago?" the boy questioned. Drago, I gathered, was the Pyrus Bakugan on his shoulder.

"I do not understand. The energy is coming from her." His Bakugan replied, in the first low voice I'd heard.

All the others also had Bakugan with them, and said Bakugan talked worriedly amongst themselves. Their owners eyed me disbelievingly. There were four guys and three girls, but one caught my attention. He wasn't talking with the others, or even looking at them. Instead, he had his eyes closed and an annoyed expression on his face. His hair was long and black, and from what I could tell he was in good physical condition.

The boy that I'd seen first spoke to me now. "Who are you? Are you working for Naga?"

I didn't react at first because I was too busy trying to figure out the silent boy. He snapped his fingers impatiently. He would have asked again, but the female voice from before interrupted him. She was a Bakugan also, Haos it seemed.

"The Infinity core… Her presence is disrupting my control."

"Hang in there, Wayvern," a guy with light brown, almost blonde, hair encouraged.

As she said this everyone except the quiet boy started directing questions at me. They drew closer, and other people on the sidewalk, shoving and engrossed in their own worlds, continued walking by. They pushed past the crowd interrogating me, but hadn't come near me yet.

Since they kept diminishing the space between us, I was forced to take steps back, into the alleyway. I hoped that I wouldn't sense anything because they happened to be very observant and would probably know that I had such an ability.

Unfortunately, I sensed a bug—a bug!—leaping off the wall in my direction. Without thinking, I moved, just as Wayvern called out, "The Infinity Core!" Gasps came from everyone around except from me. Zora, I believe, demanded that I move out of the way. I couldn't. I looked away, and sensed something coming toward me. The light brightened until I had to cover my eyes. Zora's weight disappeared from my shoulder. The blinding light hurt, but I couldn't scream. I was frozen.

And then, a whole new weight crashed upon me.

_So how was that? Review everyone! _


	3. Chapter 3

_This chapter is written from __**Zora's**__ perspective. _

_Remember folks, I do not own anyone mentioned here except Nicole and Zora_

_Oh and thanks to those of you that reviewed. It's really encouraging! _

**Chapter 3**

**Zora's POV**

"Move out of the way!" I screamed at her. She merely stood there with her eyes closed and a strange expression on her face. Fear, maybe. It wouldn't surprise me. Nicole was a coward.

I jumped off her shoulder, landing at her feet. I attempted to look up at her, but the brightness forced me to look away. Those that had confronted us stopped their bickering and shielded their own eyes. Moments later the light faded, and I heard a sickening thud.

Glancing unwillingly in her direction, I saw Nicole sprawled on the ground of the grimy alleyway. Great. This is just what I needed. The girl doesn't listen to me about staying at the dock, and now she's unconscious. It made me angry, of course, knowing that this could have all been avoided, but then I felt it—a powerful energy pulsating within her. It was similar to what I always felt in her due to the ability she had. This time, however, it was stronger, more obvious. The intensity had to be ten times stronger than usual, but I didn't understand what it was.

Wait—before the light they had been saying something about the Infinity core. Could it be that—?

"What just happened?" asked a girl with blue hair. Well, she was more of a tomboy, but you get the picture.

The others stood motionless for a few seconds before snapping out of their momentary trance. The loud one—the one that had questioned Nicole first—ambles over hesitantly as if I would bite. Very likely considering how much I care for my _partner_. Not.

"Daniel, be careful." His Bakugan advised.

Slowly, he lifts Nicole up to a sitting position, but it is clear that she isn't awake. Her head tits back against his shoulder. He stares curiously at me with his brown eyes while the others gather in front of him. I don't make a move to go closer to her. She'll live. He glances between us and the silence is broken by a Bakugan.

"The Infinity core is no longer with me!" She states in a tired voice. She is white, but I don't believe her to be Haos. Her words give me the answer.

Everyone shares a look of concern until the tomboy asks impatiently, "Where is it then?"

Another Bakugan speaks. "The energy is radiating from…" This time it was Daniel's Bakugan—a Pyrus—but the delay in his sentence made it obvious to the humans what we Bakugan already knew.

The Infinity core—the core that balanced out the Negative energy of the Silent core—which used to be infused into this white Bakugan was now residing in the body of Nicole. Things couldn't get much worse than that. I suppressed the urge to yell at these idiots for ruining my day. Then I thought it over and decided that I needed to figure out who they were and what their intentions were first.

"Holy crap! What are we going to do now?" asked an Aquos Bakugan on the shoulder of a small boy. His panicking was only making things worse as it sank in. What exactly was _I_ going to do now?

All the humans took their time digesting this new information. I for one had no idea how the core had traveled to earth, but that must've explained the feeling I kept having that something was amiss. Now things were definitely wrong.

Daniel seemed angry. "What do you mean it's in her?" he shouted at the Pyrus, casting a confused glance at Nicole as if she would have the answer. Had she been awake it would have made no difference. She hardly ever had an answer to anything.

"I do not understand myself, Daniel, but we must take her to safety immediately." He answered in a deep voice.

"Drago is right, Dan. We don't have time to stand here debating. Naga could send his henchmen here any minute!" The blue-haired girl told him. Apparently, the Pyrus was called Drago.

"If Wayvern isn't holding the core, we really don't know if Naga will hold back against a girl." A boy—well, he was really more of a man, probably eighteen in human years—with brown hair so light it almost looked blonde, responded.

"I agree with Joe. Besides, we have no knowledge of what to expect from this inopportune change of events. May I suggest we take her back to my house until she recovers?" The kid that spoke looked directly at me and smiled. He seemed too small to be hanging around with the big boys.

"You heard him. Let's pack her up and deliver her to his house!" It was the Aquos again and annoying by my standards. I could tell we were going to get along splendidly. Not.

"Excellent plan, Marucho," commented a second Bakugan on his shoulder. Two? It took me a minute to figure out that they were of the Preyas species—the kind that multiply when they evolve. Marucho then used his Bakupod to contact someone. I tried to turn away from these people, toward Nicole, but someone had the nerve to seize me.

"Why hello you cute little Bakugan! I'm Julie. What's your name?" I glared at the bubbly girl because I disagreed. I was not cute. Oh and I didn't like being manhandled.

Trying to keep my dignity, I answered, "Put me down!" Although it wasn't dignified as I would have liked, she dropped me. I rolled toward Nicole and gazed at them again. They were expecting an answer. "I am known as Darkus Zora."

It was Daniel who asked, "What were you doing here, anyway?" Judging by the look in his eyes and everyone else's, they had plenty more questions to ask. Believe me; I had my fair share of inquires, but I took my own advice and kept my mouth shut.

They were going to take her somewhere, and at this point I didn't believe to have a choice. On my own I couldn't do much. As much as I disliked her, I would not be so cold as to leave her there. Instead of responding to his question I said, "You're going to help her?"

The group nodded. It wouldn't surprise me if they considered her a friend already. These kids were too friendly for their own good.

A motor vehicle pulled up behind the children and produced an older looking gentleman around Marty's age.

"Master Marucho, I am pleased to be of assistance." He stated in an aged voice.

"I greatly appreciate your arrival, Kato." The boy responded in a girly voice. "Could you please help Dan take this girl into the limo?"

"Of course, sir," he obliged respectfully. Gently pulling Nicole out of Daniel's grasp, he proceeded to carry her into the car and stretch her across a seat. Everyone followed Marucho in his car, Daniel being the last one. Her picked me up and held me in his open palm.

"Well, Zora, looks like you're coming with us!" he exclaimed cheerfully. Oh, joy.

_That's the end of CHPTR 3. Keep sending those reviews in please!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Many thanks to those of you that have taken the time to read, and more thanks to those that reviewed. _

_This chapter will continue in Zora's POV, just so you know._

_See Chapter 1 for disclaimer info. Enjoy!_

Chapter 4

Zora's Point of View

The kids piled into the sleek, black limousine quickly, as they were holding back traffic not only on the street but on the sidewalk. Curious pedestrians gazed in awe at the automobile parked on the road. Cars lined up behind us and honked their horns impatiently. I didn't pretend to understand humans; there were two lanes, so why not take the other? Either way, Kato had gotten settled into the driver's seat and drove off slowly.

Though I don't really know much about human transportation, I'd have to say that from what I'd seen it wasn't too shabby. There were black leather seats, tinted windows, and two screens on the back of the front seats. The occupants in the back were separated from Kato, by a dark window that obscured the front of the road.

The four males had sat themselves across from the seat that Nicole was occupying. The tomboy sat by the window on Nicole's seat with the lively white-haired girl in between them. Daniel still held me in his palm while the others stared at either me or the girl. It was disturbing really, knowing that they were watching any move I might make. Nobody spoke, and I used that silence to study them as they examined me.

Casually, I focused my gaze on the tomboy with no name—well, none that I knew of. Honestly, I didn't want to know much about her since she was loud and short-tempered. It surprised that she wore a skirt, but the outfit in general did not interest me. It didn't match—or at least I thought so, according to what Nicole had told me about fashion—and looked a bit revealing. Her hair was pulled into two pigtails and extremely long. On her shoulder was a Haos Tigrerra. The species suited her, tough and equally loud.

The next girl obviously liked the color pink because she wore shorts and a vest of that color. Her long white hair was in a ponytail. I didn't expect her to have a Subterra Bakugan, much less a Gorem. I thought Ventus suited her more; it was breezy like her.

If I had continued going in order of seating I would have examined Nicole next, but I didn't notice anything too different. Her shoulder length brown hair was disorganized and her clothes were dirty. Oh, and maybe she seemed a bit paler than usual.

I moved on to Daniel. He was easy to analyze. A red outfit and brown hair that could not have been combed this morning. He wore goggles on his head and was a Pyrus battler. Simple enough. I couldn't say whether or not I found him to be less aggravating than the rest of his comrades. I'd probably find out soon, though. I doubted that he would be able to keep silent for much longer.

The small Marucho was the friendliest, it seemed, without overdoing it like the other girl. I'd already determined that he battled with Aquos. His intelligence was what set him apart from the rest. Too much knowledge for one so young was my opinion.

The man who had the white Bakugan—neither Haos nor Ventus—was also very sociable. There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about him except the Bakugan. A White-One. One that did not belong in any of the six attributed-worlds. I'd never seen one before, but I didn't let it surprise me. I felt like I should save the feeling for later because I was fairly sure I'd need it.

And then there was the final boy. Midnight black hair tied behind him, purple vest, and black pants—he looked…tough? No, it was more like mysterious and independent. The Ventus Skyress with him gave off a similar impression. He hadn't talked at all during the scene in the alley. I doubt he'd even shown any emotion. Not that he had a reason to. Personally, I believed that I would like him the best—a person of very few words and an equal amount of feeling. He was the only one who wasn't staring at one of us, simply looking out the window with golden eyes.

I looked out, too, and saw that we barely driving past the tower Nicole had been meaning to get at. Was traffic really that bad? Or was this old guy an extremely slow driver? It could have been both, but Daniel suddenly jerked me up to his face, interrupting my rant on slow driving.

"You know, you never did answer my question from before," he said, smiling. "We just want to help."

Yes, I'd _never_ heard that one before. Obviously he thought that a little sociability was going to get me open up. Not happening. Seeing as we were eye to eye, I turned my back to him wordlessly.

"Hey, you don't have to be like that! Is your partner like this too?" he asked, annoyed. Partner? Please, she was hardly worth being with _me_, not to mention that she acted as my complete opposite.

"Allow me, Dan," suggested Drago. He hopped out of front pocket and onto his hand. "My name is Drago, and I'd like for us to work together since the incident doesn't give us many choices."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a proud Dragonoid, living up to his position as leader of these poor chumps. But underneath that I saw truth. He was right. They were protecting the core, I assumed, and now it was in Nicole's possession. This meant that they had to protect her as well. She carried no other Bakugan besides me and I would, of course, jump at the chance to defend her. Yeah, right.

"Tell me who you all are. What is going on in Vestroia? How did the core get here?" I questioned in return, addressing not just Drago, but everyone in the limo. My boldness must have caught everyone off guard because even the silent one looked up.

"Okay, so you want answers, too. Alright, well, I'm Dan Kuso." Dan replied. He gestured for Marucho to go next.

"I am Marucho and this Preyas, Preyas Diablo, and Preyas Angelo." The Bakugan flinched away from me when I turned to them.

"She scares me, Preyas," whispered the light one to the original.

"Me, too." Good.

"My name is Joe and this is Wayvern." He pointed at the White One and smiled.

The last male introduced himself coldly as Shun. His Bakugan presented herself and proved to be more agreeable than I'd first assumed.

The tomboy was Runo with her Tigrerra and the other girl was named Julie.

"My name is Subterra Hammer Gorem, but you can call me Gorem," said her Bakugan.

"And together we are the Bakugan Battle Brawlers!" concluded Dan dramatically.

"Um…" I felt uncomfortable with that. It was tacky and well… tacky. No denying the fact that Dan was just as exasperating as his friends.

Everyone exchanged a look with him, and all eyes settled on the unconscious girl. Her face was blank, expressing nothing of the previous ordeal. When she awoke, though, she would probably chew me out. Again. For no reason that I could explain. I, in turn, would argue back and use James to gain an upper hand which would almost certainly cause her to cry.

I went over this scenario in my head, while everyone else waited for me to tell them about her, which I wouldn't do.

"So you're Zora, but who is she?"

I jumped, surprised to hear Shun speaking. He stared intently at me, the cold gaze piercing my resolve to say nothing about her. I supposed that it wouldn't hurt to tell them her name, since at least one of them would hate her the way I do.

With this in mind, I glanced disdainfully at the aforementioned girl. "Oh," I started dryly. "Her name is Nicole."

"She isn't wearing a Bakupod," Joe noticed.

"Oh, but look at the cute purse she's carrying!" Julie picked up her black handbag. "And it's designer, too!" she gushed. Okay, this girl had some problems. Nicole is unconscious with the Infinity core and she's worried about her bag! I don't know how the others stood her.

Then again, they're all humans, so they are probably equally strange.

I peeked outside to see how we were progressing. It seemed that Kato had finally decided to budge because I did not recognize anything. A tall building, not the tower, loomed overhead, and we smoothly ceased to move. Suddenly, the butler's face appeared on the screen.

"Master Marucho, we have arrived at your abode," he announced, with a smile.

"I thank you, Kato. Please take Nicole to one of the guestrooms and have the maids take care of her," he ordered in that childish voice that I found difficult to take seriously.

"Yes, sir." Minutes later she was carried off somewhere, while I still stood with Dan.

"Okay, we have a few questions for you now, so—" Dan began to say, but I skipped off and waddled after the maids.

"Hey, where do you think you're going!" shouted Runo. I ignored her and slowly made my way to the elevator. I wasn't going to talk to them when there was the possibility of Nicole waking up and not finding me to argue with.

Quick footsteps came up from behind me. "I'm guessing you're worried about Nicole, right?" asked Joe, pressing the button for it to open. I saw Shun narrow his eyes. Looks like he wasn't being fooled like the others.

"Please allow Kato to take you there, Zora." Marucho said to me. I silently agreed to be taken there—anything to get away from them.

Tomorrow Nicole would sort things out—it was all her fault this happened in the first place—I'd get my argument and life would return to normal.

As if.

_What are your thoughts? I'd like to know so remember to review. Things will get a bit more interesting in the next chapter.  
_

_CocoaCharm15_


	5. Chapter 5

_This chapter will return to Nicole's point of view. She's been out for two chapters, and so we'll see how things turn out._

_The bold parts are what she sees while she is awake._

_The italics are in her dreams or flashbacks._

_I hope it's not too confusing. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask them in reviews._

_Disclaimer: See chapter 1. _

CHAPTER 5

Nicole's POV

….

….

….

"_Nicole?" I looked up at him through blurry eyes. He smiled kindly, offering me his hand. I desperately wanted to take it, to make everything better. "I want you to watch me battle this guy. He won't get away with hurting y—"_

I forced myself to wake up before the dream could go any further. Well, it was more like a memory being played out as a dream, but either way, I didn't want to see the rest. But I was so…so real. Almost as if I…

Logic quickly prevented the end of that thought. That's right, I'm not thinking about that. Logic was right. Logic overpowered emotion. Or, at least, that's what I told myself.

With this in mind, the pounding of my heart gradually slowed as did my breathing. I stayed unmoving for a few minutes with my eyes closed, counting the seconds between each breath.

One...Two. Repeat.

After a while of this it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was. I shut my eyes tighter. Possibilities squirmed in my head, fighting for the right to be considered. Where to begin?

Let's see, if I had been kidnapped, would I feel as comfortable as I do now?

If I was dead, would I feel as relaxed as I do at this moment?

Probably not.

Therefore, I was in all probability alive and not captured. What had happened to me anyway? There were these people and a light. I remember hearing someone say something. Who was it? Someone familiar. Someone like—

"Zora!" I shouted, quickly sitting up and opening my eyes. An acute pain that began in my head darted through my body. I gasped from the pain, immediately collapsing on the bed with closed eyes again. I curled into a fetal position, attempting to silence the throbbing. Slowly, I opened them. They hurt as they adjusted to the bright light that was streaming in from…a window? Even though the light was nothing compared to the intense beam that I'd seen before, I couldn't make anything out right away. It took a while, but finally I could distinguish the fuzzy outline of curtains and maybe a table in front.

Gradually, I tried to sit up again, and the pain wasn't as powerful as before. It had reduced to a dull pounding that didn't hurt as much if I didn't think about it. I touched the back of my head and winced. There was a bump there. What I'd hit myself with?

As things became clearer, I realized that I was in a bedroom. It was a relatively nice room, not much smaller than the one I had at my summer house.

The walls were painted a soft aquamarine, and the large window to my left was surrounded by drapes the color of sand. Opposite the window was a corridor that I imagined led to the exit. The king-sized bed was centered against the wall to the left of the entrance. On the other wall adjacent to the door was framed a watercolor painting of the ocean. There _was _a table in front of the window, several feet at the front of the bed.

Finally, I looked to the right and examined the bathroom. I didn't want to seem nosy so I decided against getting up and looking around. From what I could see, there was a shower and a tub, and the rest was out of my line of sight. Curiosity took hold of me, despite what I'd told myself about snooping, and I crawled out of the bed, lightly treading toward the unknown bathroom. I was halfway around the bed when my vision flickered. I stopped and clutched the comforter, trying to keep my balance. It inexplicably resorted to normal, as it had changed at first, I continued toward the bath. Seconds later it flickered yet again, and I grabbed the bed post, but when it returned I didn't have my eyes set on the bathroom anymore.

**There was a woman wearing a maid's outfit in front of me. She stood by the bed, and bowed to me. Then she offered me a set of brand new clothes. **

"**The young masters wish you downstairs in an hour, Miss Nicole." She informed me with her head still bowed.**

Suddenly, my vision wavered again, and I was back to grabbing the bed and making my way to the bathroom. What was that? I desperately wanted an answer, but I couldn't come up with any. Despair and confusion were the main feelings here, but I couldn't suppress them as easily as before. They escalated and gripped at the edges of my mind, threatening to take over against my wishes. I knelt on the ground, holding my head between my hands—a feeble attempt at regaining control. My sight was leaving me again. Another vision…

**Zora was turned away from me. She faced the strangers from the alley—the group of friends that all had Bakugan. The leader looked as if he was trying to explain something to me, and I felt the feelings that had all but consumed me moments earlier. He seemed to be pleading with me.**

I could see again, after that and I used the opportunity to run into the bathroom and splash my face with cold water. I took quick, shorts breaths. This was not normal—not that I'd ever been truly normal—and I was more than a little freaked out. Sure I had been able to sense things before, but I could never actually _see_ them.

My ability wasn't something that could just change overnight, was it? And if so, why now? Could it have something to do with whatever happened in the alleyway? I thought back to the vision of the kid explaining something to me. Maybe he knew—and that meant that Zora probably would, too! She supposedly had the answer to everything, so I believed this would be no different.

The maid! She was going to enter at some point, hopefully soon. I studied myself in the mirror. My jeans and green shirt were gone. I was only in a bath robe. The maid had most likely dressed me differently. It didn't bother me; I was more concerned with whatever was going wrong with me.

I wandered back to the bed and sat down at the end of it, looking out the window. How much time had passed? The sun was high in the sky, but like the last time I'd been outside, the atmosphere was not that of a care free summer. There was that same anxiety in the air, but what was it?

It had to be almost noon. Yesterday, I was searching for an answer and to what exactly? I hadn't had a plan, but apparently destiny—if there was some force like that out there—did. Had I listened to Zora maybe I could have avoided this confusion, this sensation of not knowing.

Speaking of Zora, where was she when I needed her? Of course, I'd never admit that to her directly. Usually I could do without the sarcasm and scorn. This was one of times, if not the only time, I felt that her services were required. It wouldn't surprise me if she had ditched exactly when the danger came. Typical Zora.

I would have gladly made a list of everything I disliked about her if I hadn't heard the quick footsteps of the maid down the hall. I sat extremely still, calling for her to enter when she knocked hesitantly. The scene played out exactly as the vision except this time she included her name, Sarah, after handing me the clothes. She then hurried out of the room.

I gratefully accepted them, shouting out a thanks before she had left. I went through the shower in a hurry and without really noticing anything. There was no time to waste. I had no idea when the next vision would show, and I certainly did not want to go through it alone again.

And then there were all the questions I had. For every thought I had, there seemed to be a thousand doubts that went with it. I've never been a know it all, but I don't believe that I have felt as lost I did then. I glanced at the clock that hung on the wall by the painting.

She had given me an hour, and only half of it had passed by the time I was finished. At least time was always steady. I spent a moment considering myself carefully in front on the mirror. The new outfit was similar to my old one, except that instead of jeans I wore shorts. I kept my hair down, tucking my bangs behind my ears. I breathed deeply and headed out to find the young masters.

_It's almost time for them to meet, but I wonder what new drama will unfold? Will she get the answers she seeks? Stick around and you'll find out…._

_Review!_

_Cocoacharm15_


	6. Chapter 6

_**After so long, I've finally finished chapter six.**_

**CHAPTER SIX**

**NICOLE'S POV**

Silence overwhelmed the elaborately embellished corridors as I carefully made my way down them, tiptoeing at some points to avoid detection from some unknown force. The paintings of landscapes seemed to open up and swallow the lonely halls along with me. The solemn eyed people portrayed followed me as I would my way through their home. I was paranoid, I admit, but when you're in a stranger's house you can never be too paranoid.

At least, I thought so.

I didn't exactly know where "downstairs" was so all I could do is wander around until I found a staircase. It would have been easier if they had some sort of directory, like at the mall. I mean, we had one at my house. Shouldn't everyone?

Of course, they had to have a directory. What self-respecting millionaire didn't? The new goal blazed in my head, and I quickened my pace to locate it faster. After ten minutes my search didn't yield a map. Instead I found a flight of stairs.

Glancing around for people, I took the steps carefully, attempting to keep myself from shaking myself down the steps. I struggled to keep my emotions under control. Well, mostly it was the nausea wanted to take hold. Obviously, it would not be a good thing to have a panic attack while on an inclined surface.

The polished marble floors at the bottom didn't help me by showing my queasy reflection. To my left I spotted a white pair of double doors. On the right was wide entryway that led to an enormous wood front door. The only way to go was through the doors.

Putting on my brave face, I breathed in deeply and stepped toward them. Although they towered over me, it didn't surprise me that they opened easily. Inside the room was completely white. There were large windows with see-through drapes covering them haphazardly. It was a bright, beautiful room indeed, but not the dining room—just a living room.

I crossed the living room without inspecting it too much; it was grand all right, but it didn't impress me. Farther on open French doors invited me into another hallway. I followed it to the end. It led to a wonderfully lit dining room, with a chandelier suspended from the vaulted ceiling. I assumed that this was the place and I still had ten minutes to spare. Then I noticed the small purple sphere sitting on the far of the table.

I couldn't keep control the anger that seeped through me at the sight of her. Zora was here all along, instead of helping me at my time of greatest need! I was at wits' end, and she was calmly lounging around a stranger's house, as if there was nothing wrong! Of all the selfish things she'd ever done, this had to take the cake.

I wanted to scream and yell and cry at the same time. My breathing was shallow, and my vision was gone. I realized that another stupid vision was taking over. No way. I was far too enraged to let a dumb glimpse of the future distract me from speaking my mind to Zora. I heard dull shouts, and saw a pair of infuriated green eyes. I used all the anger in me as an energy source. I pulled it around me to close off the sight I was seeing, to surround myself in the intense resentment, not in the peek of what may come.

It took a while, but I regained my vision, while my clenched fists flexed. My jaw was locked, and I shot daggers at the Bakugan through my eyes. She shifted slightly to her left, almost to look at me. She knew I was here and was ignoring me. This only fueled the rage within. I found my voice, and I willed it not to tremble, angry or not.

"Zora," I managed to say without screaming. The darkus Bakugan turned expectantly. So she was just waiting for me to make the first move then? Fine, I'd play along.

"Where have you been?" I asked bitterly, eyes narrowed.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she replied in the same tone.

"Actually, I would. So if you don't mind, how about explaining to me just what the heck is going on!" She hopped across the table, halting in front of me.

"Maybe you should be more grateful. Had it been up to me, I would have left you in that despicable alley! You humans don't appreciate anything." She shouted at me, jumping occasionally to get in my face.

"How about treating me like a person!" I retorted, my face becoming warm with the emotion. "I'm always to blame! I always mess up—"

Zora cut me off. "Yes, you are the problem here! I'm glad you finally realize it!"

I shook me head, disgusted. "Things aren't right, and you know it Zora!" I replied firmly, keeping my eye contact steady.

Someone cleared their throat behind us. I jumped, startled, spinning around to face the intruder. I met six pairs or wide eyes and dropped jaws.

Oops. Had they heard all of that? And more importantly, why hadn't I sensed them there? Yes, things were definitely worse than they'd appeared at first. My ability was completely out of control, and Zora was—

Wait a minute. I took another look at the people standing in the doorway. Weren't they the ones that had found me in the alley? What were they doing here? Then I remembered that I didn't know where I was, so they probably did.

"Say hello to the one and only Nicole Adams," my Bakugan introduced sardonically.

The one that appeared to be the leader stepped forward, with a friendly grin on his face. He didn't appear to notice the obvious dislike in her voice. He went on to introduce everyone, but Zora's inattention meant that she'd gone through this already. Exactly how much had I missed?

I maintained a polite smile on my face while he talked, but it slowly faded as I detected the curious and fearful stares most of them gave me. There was that boy again—the quiet one. Shun. He didn't stare like the rest. His golden gaze looked more accusatory than questioning. I realized that I was staring at him too, so I returned to look at Dan.

"Your complexion appears rather pale," noted Marucho.

"Yeah, looks like you've seen a ghost," added Preyas, bouncing on his shoulder. Next thing I knew I was being ushered into a chair, and presented with a plate loaded with food.

"Oh, yeah! Breakfast time! Let's eat," commanded Dan. I heard a few sighs at his comment, but everyone sat down, eating in silence. Everyone's Bakugan were placed in front of them, as if keeping guard. Zora was the only one that remained near the edge of the table.

That deep resentment returned with the thought of Zora. It didn't take a genius to conclude that she knew what was going on. She'd teamed up with these people for Pete's sake! It hurt a little knowing that she trusted them more than me, but not enough to provoke an onslaught of emotion. There was no point in getting emotional for her. She wasn't worth it.

What this did indicate, though, was that I'd have to work with Dan's team to have my questions answered. They already had an image for me. I was uncooperative, hotheaded, and irresponsible. That's what I gathered from the glances I continued to receive from those present at the table.

I couldn't appreciate the delicious food that was set before me when I ate. I didn't taste it, or even feel full after the plate was empty. It had to have been three days at least, right? I finished before everyone, and excused myself only to be taken by Kato back into the ample living room.

I sighed audibly, waiting for the host. Minutes later the sound Dan's voice carried through the hallway.

"..has to be the best meal I've ever had!" he exclaimed.

"Oh please Dan; you say that about every meal." Replied Runo, clearly annoyed.

"Well, it's true! Man, Marucho that is one of the things I love best about your place. Besides, the totally tricked out bathrooms, of course." He complimented, as Julie laughed in her high-pitched voice.

Wait. Dan didn't own this place? I hadn't really wondered as to who the proprietor was because I'd assumed it was Dan. He led, he owned. It surprised me that the small kid had the power to the mansion. It was hilarious actually, imagining Marucho sitting at a desk, writing important business letters. I laughed. I gasped, and quickly covered my mouth with me hand.

Marucho entered first, leading the way, I assumed. "I hope you are finding your stay here pleasurable Nicole," he greeted politely.

"Yes, thank you. I'm not sure what has happened, but—" I hesitated, eyeing their reactions—"I'm grateful for everything you may have done for me." I spotted Zora in Dan's open palm, causing me to add, "And for Zora as well."

"Don't worry about it," stated Dan cheerfully. "I have a feeling you'll be sticking around, so we might as well be friends."

"That'd be great! I adore your hair, and your sense of style," gushed Julie. She was airheaded, but with good intentions.

I nodded, smiling. Everything was great. Nothing had gone wrong. It wasn't as serious as I'd first thought. All of them were really at ease. "So what happened?" I asked equally optimistic.

And just like that, a dark atmosphere clouded the once happy room. The group exchanged nervous glances, even Dan, the confident one. I tried to not let it get to me by taking deep even breaths.

"We should first explain the events in Vestroia," said Joe softly. "Wayvern?" he asked, encouraging her to begin.

She looked at me, then at Zora. I didn't know how much she was aware of, but it has to surpass my knowledge. "What's Vestroia?" I asked immediately.

"Vestroia is another world entirely. It is the place where all Bakugan come from. Our home," responded Drago.

"Another world?" I repeated dumbly.

"Yes," began Wayvern, "Vestroia revolved around two cores that maintained balance. The Infinity Core controlled positive energy and the Silent Core was negative." At the sound of this I felt warm and then suddenly cold, though I did not know why.

I couldn't help interrupting. "Revolv_ed_? Maintain_ed_? This isn't happening anymore?"

"No, unfortunately, it is not. My brother Naga wanted power; he could not keep himself from the power that emanated from the Silent Core. Naga overtook it and became one with the core." I gasped and felt another chill go through me; such an imbalance of power couldn't bring about anything good.

Tigrerra sensed this and confirmed my thoughts. "Yes, with the balance out of order, Vestroia began to collapse upon itself." "

"The Bakugan then came to this world, looking for a solution," added Skyress.

I decided to reiterate just to make sure I had everything straight. "Okay, so you're saying that Naga took one core filled with negative power. But if it took both of them to keep balance, what would make him think that he'd be able to control one?"

"She's quite an intelligent human," I heard Skyress remark to Shun.

I ignored this, thinking of what one could gain from having only have power. If I wanted to be truly dominant, I wouldn't settle for half, especially when the two halves worked together. Then it hit me that she hadn't mentioned the Infinity Core. Another rush of warmth filled me, and I embraced the feeling to dispel the cold that had been there before.

Hadn't she said something about it in the alley? What was it?

_The infinity Core is leaving me._ Yes, that was it. But that implied that the Core had been in Wayvern's possession. Where was it now? Nobody made an effort to answer my previous question. I posed my inquiry again.

"He…Naga realized that with only one core, he was not able to control the power. This made him go after the other as well," answered Gorem in a deep rumbling voice. He turned to Wayvern.

"The change in the dimensions caused the Infinity Core to travel here like the Bakugan. I followed it, and took it into myself." She concluded.

"But in the alley you said that it was leaving? Where exactly did it go?" I forced myself to ask, the dread building in me. I had the horrible premonition that I knew where it was. Again, they all looked at each other, as if wanting to hide the truth.

"Will someone tell her already? I won't do it because she won't believe me," stated Zora aloud. Silence. "Don't worry about her fainting again. She's hit her head before plenty of times."

This time Shun spoke in a low, clear voice. "You have it. The Core is within your body." I stared blankly back at them. I had the Core? Why? I hadn't noticed any side effects, so maybe it would be okay…

Except that Naga was after me. He wanted it, and if I had to be eliminated for him to succeed, so be it. Despair came back to me full force. I fell to my knees, gasping for air. Momentarily, I felt arms pulling me up, but it didn't last long. I glimpsed concerned looks from their faces before looking up and seeing _his_ eyes. James.

**He glared at me, and I felt the anguish more strongly than before. He stepped away from me and into a hazy horizon. Everyone at my side shouted angrily at him, and then he beckoned to me. I wanted to follow, but what about them? I felt a hand lock around my wrist, keeping me from him. I fought and struggled, but arms enclosed me. I had to go to him. James.**

"…happened? Are you okay?" I sat on the white sofa, Dan screamed into my face. I focused my eyesight on him again, and then shook my head, taking in everyone's alarmed expressions.

"This is strange. The energy from her for that moment doubled from the levels it was at before," Drago commented, troubled. "Tell me, Nicole, what did you experience?"

I warily steadied my breathing, before replying, "I think it's time for me to tell my story now. There should be no secrets in a team."

_**As always, I appreciate all those that read, and especially those that voice their opinions through reviews!**_

_**Cocoacharm15**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own Bakugan.**

**Chapter 7**

Although I'd had more than my fair share of surprises for a day, it didn't make the shock set in as I might've preferred. It would have been better than feeling every emotion so acutely and knowing that anything I might throw their way would only have the same effect. Each one of us—and most recently me—was all too aware of the reality than so few adults knew. And still, there were more unknowns that, much to my dislike, centered on me. That is what the crew around me wished to solve: the mysteries that I'd brought upon them.

Most everyone followed Dan's lead when he sat on the white couch, except Shun. He opted to stand indifferently by one of the large windows. They waited expectantly to hear my side of the weird happenings. I wasn't exactly sure where to begin. Should I start from the beginning when I'd first decided to come to Wardington? It'd probably be better to tell them of my power before that, though. And how much was I willing to tell? Did I want them to know about him?

"So, let's hear it," Dan prompted, eager as usual. He didn't concern them, but it had to do with Bakugan.

"Oh, I can't wait for it. I just love a good story," commented a giddy Preyas.

"Please Preyas, she isn't going to continue unless we're quiet," chided Marucho.

"Oh, sorry." He replied, still jumping anxiously on the boy's shoulder.

I cleared my throat to buy me some time to get my thoughts together. No, they wouldn't know about him. I started off vague to gauge their reactions. "First, I think you should know about me. I'm not normal."

"Big deal. What is normal, anyway?" Runo commented, giving me a friendly smile. Okay, so no one here could be described as ordinary, but compared to them I was a freak. And I told them so with a wry smile.

This earned me a mixed looks of surprise, sympathy, and confusion. It was Julie that spoke up first. "Oh, don't say that. Everyone has things that make them different. So what if you have a power source from another dimension? It's perfectly normal—" She didn't finish the sentence, realizing that she wasn't helping.

"You don't understand. It's the truth when I say that. Ever since I can remember, I've had an ability that has set me apart from everyone else. I don't know if there are others like me, but I know it shouldn't be this way." I paused, hoping that Zora wouldn't decide to put in her two cents. "Up until a couple days ago, I could sense things before they'd happen."

"You could see the future?" Shun asked with obvious skepticism.

"Wow, could you tell me my fortune?" Julie asked, ecstatic.

"No, and no." I answered, a bit irritated with her scatterbrained personality. "I couldn't actually see anything. It was more like a premonition—I _felt_ something before it happened." Everyone stared, a confused look on their faces.

Fortunately, Joe's eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh, so it was kind of like a gut feeling that happened fairly often."

I nodded with excitement. "Yeah, it was exactly like that! And it happened all the time. I couldn't control when I was going to get these impulses."

"Although that is interesting, I still don't understand why this would have anything to do with us," stated Tigrerra.

"Yes, and that still does not explain why the core chose to go to her," Gorem added.

"I'm not sure why myself, but—"I began before Zora interrupted me.

"Of course _you_ wouldn't know, so why don't you let me explain." she asked with carefully guarded menace that no one would detect unless they were really looking for it.

"Alright, go ahead," I answered with just as much restraint.

"Even before she held the core, Nicole had an obvious Vestroia-like energy about her. That's probably what led you to her in the first place."

I did? How come I didn't know about this? It figures that she kept the most important facts from me, as always. If she'd told me that in the first place, I might've listened to her and stayed on the docks.

"I still don't understand," remarked Skyress.

"She didn't know that she was giving off this energy, but Bakugan did. Not only that, but the energy seemed to spike every time she sensed something," Zora continued.

Again, why hadn't Zora told me anything in the time we'd known each other? Would I not understand? Had it just not been worth mentioning? I made a mental note to myself to call Zora out on this one later.

"Yes, there were sudden bursts of energy coming from her in the alley. It seemed to overwhelm the entire vicinity," Drago realized.

"That would mean that her energy would have been temporarily more powerful than that of any of you Bakugan," Marucho deduced.

"Yes, the power resembled that of the Silent Core," Wayvern added. I felt cold set into my bones. "That would have been why the core chose to go to you. Your energy overcame mine."

"It's strange for a human to mimic this energy. Do you know why it happens?" Skyress asked curiously. Even her partner turned to me for an answer. Too bad I didn't have one.

"I'm sorry. I don't know myself. Like I said, I've always been like this."

"Okay, so one mystery down, or at least half," Joe said cheerfully. Then he looked thoughtfully at me. "So Drago mentioned earlier that your energy spiked again. Do you mind telling us what you felt?"

"I felt anxiety and loneliness," I replied automatically.

"No, I meant what your hunch was." He clarified, still grinning amiably. Man, that was creeping me out.

"Oh I'm sorry. I just assumed…" I trailed off, embarrassed. I quickly shook that off as my face turned bright red. "Well, that's the next thing I wanted to tell you guys about."

"Go on," Runo encouraged.

"Yeah, this keeps getting better by the minute!" exclaimed Diablo.

"Well, ever since the…the core"—it felt awkward referring since it was within me—"I haven't sensed things anymore."

"But what about the spike that Drago was talking about?" asked Dan, confused.

I held up a hand to stop him. "Let me finish. I haven't sensed things. Instead I-I've been seeing things."

"Hallucinating?" Shun asked a bit cynically.

As much as it would have made my day to answer with my own snide comment, I couldn't muster the courage to do so. Instead, I refused to meet his gaze and calmly said, "No, I've actually been seeing things. And I saw you telling me about this whole mess, except that it didn't go exactly as I had seen it." In the vision, Dan had been begging me to believe him, I now realized, but it hadn't happened that way for some reason.

I debated whether or not to tell them about the most recent vision. I don't think it would be pertinent, considering that Zora would probably hate me even more if she knew I'd seen him in my future.

I continued without mentioning it. "It seems like every time I feel a strong emotion, I see something related to it."

"So you saw something when the energy spiked?" Drago clarified. I nodded. "That is odd indeed. With the core, your usual ability has disappeared and manifested itself in visions."

A silence settled over us, everyone seemingly consumed in their own thoughts. I couldn't really say that I was looking forward to this face off against Naga. My power to see the future hadn't shown me anything particularly enticing as of yet. And from what I'd gathered, Naga was ruthless and even after his sister. The energy I supposedly emitted wasn't more powerful than Wayvern's _all_ the time, so how could I promise to keep the core safe? Another concern was that everyone else appeared to have a strong bond with their Bakugan as opposed to Zora and me. Worry.

**A map was portrayed on the screen in the extravagant room. It was Wardington and some triangles headed toward the tower from all directions. A creeping anxiety washed over me, and the picture zoomed in on the shapes, showing what appeared to be Bakugan. They were different from any I'd ever seen, and they had twisted grins on their faces. They were coming for me. **

"Are you alright, Nicole?" asked a concerned Marucho.

"She has seen something again," announced Tigrerra.

I stared back blankly at him, my thoughts on the scene that had played out before me. With growing apprehension, I decided to ask about it. "How far away is the tower?"

With a confused expression, Joe answered, "It isn't too far, just a couple of blocks from here."

"Those Bakugan were loose on the streets, heading this way!" I blurted out.

"What Bakugan?" questioned Dan fiercely. I gasped and met everyone's gaze at least once.

"They aren't supposed to be moving freely in this dimension are they?" I realized with dread.

"No, but since the merge of our two worlds, many things have gone wrong. We Bakugan should not be here in the first place," informed Skyress.

I sighed. "This is insane," I admitted quietly, then added more loudly, "But there's nothing I can do to change any of this now. In the vision, I was looking at a map of the city and there were some strange Bakugan heading toward the tower. Two of the Bakugan were green and blue and coming from the ocean, while another two were orange and brown heading here from land."

"That sounds like Hairadee and Taygen!" shouted Shun.

"Yeah, and Tricloid and Rebeeder!" added Runo.

"You know who they are?" I asked surprised. Nobody bothered to answer my question since Marucho motioned for everyone to follow him. He led the way up to a large high-tech presumably the one from my vision. He pulled up a map that showed the city and all its surroundings in perfect detail. Sure enough, the ones known as Rebeeder, Tricloid, Hairadee, and Taygen popped up on the screen. Of course, I had no idea which was which, but they all seemed equally angry.

"We have to get to the tower. From there we can see everything that is going on and plan our next moves better." Dan decided firmly. His group their Bakugan nodded with the same determination.

I laughed nervously. "Go? Out there?"

**So….please review! Tell me how to improve my writing or any suggestions you have. It'd be really helpful!!**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Since I have been extremely busy, I haven't posted a new chapter as quickly as I wanted to. I really want to dedicate more time to this story, but I'm afraid that won't be happening any time soon, so just bear with me, ok? **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan or any ideas related to the series. Too bad…**_

* * *

Chapter 8

Why? Why? WHY?

It would have been safer inside. Sure, Naga and the battle were _outside_, but did we actually have to go there? Especially me. I held the Infinity Core. I had to be protected, right?

It really sucked that none of them heard my brilliant arguments, though, because by the time I'd thought of them, we were already overlooking the extensive city from the observatory point of Wardington Tower. I felt bad for Dan and Shun, since they had to all but drag me halfway here—my knees were jelly. The other half of the way I mustered up some courage to pull myself forward just to get Zora to stop snickering.

My Bakugan, as usual, wasn't helping the situation any. After she had scoffed at me for having to be led, she grudgingly perched on my shoulder as I shook on the way up the tower. The two girls, and Joe with that disturbing smile of his, tried to encourage me by acting like tour guides. They drew my attention to points of interest. Well, Preyas pretty much dominated all conversation from Runo's shoulder—Marucho had stayed behind to configure some things with Kato. I appreciated them attempting to help me out, but at the same time, I felt uncomfortable seeing everyone feigning smiles for me.

All the mixed feelings disappeared, though, when I stood at the top of the tower. It felt so amazing to see everything 360 degrees around me while being on terra firma. A small, hopeful smile graced my lips. That is, until the others crowded around me and started formulating plans to take down the henchmen. Marucho joined us shortly, a bit out of breath since he had run the entire way.

"Preyas and I will go to the ocean and battle Taygen," he stated decisively, once he had caught his breath.

"Yeah, she won't know what hit her!" added Preyas.

"Well put Preyas," concurred Angelo.

Dan nodded his consent. "Good luck, guys!"

The small millionaire stepped back and threw Angelo with a, "Angelo, stand!" In a swirling vortex of blue light, the small ball expanded into a tall white humanoid creature with wings.

"At your service, Master Marucho," he said, bowing humbly while floating just outside the guard rails.

"Thank you, Angelo." With Preyas still on his shoulder—he couldn't fly—the boy jumped on his Bakugan, and they headed toward the harbor. I'd never seen a Preyas in full size, but I had to admit that it was an amazing species. Too bad I wasn't going to see him in battle.

"Alright guys, that leaves three more to take care of," Dan said, holding up his hand to demonstrate the number.

"Oh! I'll go after Tricloid, since she tried to take my Danny boy," Julie declared, _almost_ succeeding in sounding threatening. I smiled. "Let's go, Gorem!" Like Marucho, she tossed her Bakugan, and his silhouette materialized in orange light. Gorem was a warrior and as tall as the tower itself. His body was covered in armor, and a shield was attached to his right arm. Gorem extended his right hand toward us, and Julie hopped on.

"Julie!" Dan called to her. "Be careful!"

"I will, Dan! Don't worry about me," she answered with a thumbs up. Curiously, I glanced at Runo, whose cheeks were flushed. Judging from the glare she was sending at Julie, Runo was a bit jealous. I was going to suggest that both of them go together to fight, but then all of their Bakupods beeped.

"Alice!" they shouted in unison.

"Hey, guys. Listen, I'm back on your side so I'll handle the yellow one," the girl said. Her hair was orange and everyone seemed to be ecstatic to see her. Even Shun, normally stoic, had his attention drawn by her, at least a little bit.

"Do you need any help?" asked Runo in a worried tone.

"No, I think I'll manage. I have Hydranoid, after all." She turned to look behind her. "Okay, wish me luck!"

Everyone pitched in their well wishes, and their screens went blank. Joe quickly explained to me that Alice was a brawler, too, but she hadn't believed always believed she was one. I didn't question him any further because I didn't feel it was my place. Dan's watch went off again.

"Dan, there are other Bakugan headed your way!" It was Marucho. Through Runo's Bakupod I could see two figures, both red and purple, dashing at high speeds.

"It is Centorrior and Druman!" exclaimed Drago.

"Aw, snap! Those two are tough! Drago and I had a hard time battling them. One of us can't go alone."

"I'll go with you, Dan," volunteered Runo with determination.

"Are you sure? The two are the strongest out of all of them."

"I'll go with you as well," Joe added. Wayvern agreed immediately. I had a hunch that she just wanted to follow Drago and fight beside him as Runo did with Dan. He looked to Shun.

"All that leaves is Hairadee. You good to go, Shun?" Dan asked before leaving.

"I'll take care of him. Don't worry about it." He answered, giving his friend a smile. I stood there shocked, as those events occurred. Shun smiling? That had to be the act of a higher force. I guess things were really serious.

"What about Nicole?" Joe pointed to me and glanced at their—okay, _our_—leader. "We can't just leave her unguarded. It's too dangerous."

"You're right, Joe, but if Centorrior and Druman are here then Naga must be close behind them. We can't take her with us." Runo said. "She should go with Shun."

"Shun, you're powerful, and it'll only be Hairadee there." Dan added.

"Yes, she shall come with us. We will protect her with our lives," Skyress consented before the boy could reply.

With that said, Dan summoned Drago, jumping on board with Runo right beside him. His Bakugan was large and covered in red scales with a huge wingspan. A massive horn stuck out from his head, and his razor sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight. Joe also brought out Wayvern, another large dragon creature but this time white and not as menacing looking.

"Keep the core safe," she said as the two flew off in the direction of the two approaching Bakugan.

I nodded as firmly as I could and glanced at Shun.

"I feel bad for you. Nicole is completely useless. She doesn't even have any ability cards with her," remarked Zora to Shun and Skyress.

My face burned with embarrassment, but it's not like I could deny it. And seeing as no one had taken the elevator away from the tower, things were about to get worse.

"You don't?" he asked me, looking puzzled. As I was about to answer, I felt a finger tap my shoulder. It was Kato.

"Excuse me, Miss Adams, but Master Marucho asked me to give you these." He bowed and placed a Bakupod and a belt with a card holder in my hands.

"T-thank you, but—"

"There's no time to waste. Let's move! We'll go on Skyress," Shun decided before I could say anything else, like the fact that I'd never battled before in my life. "Skyress, stand!"

She became visible as the other had, except with green light. A magnificent bird emerged with a sharp beak and long feathers. Some hung down like a tail, but each looked as if it could cut through just about anything. Shun leaped onto her back expertly, while I fiddled with the belt.

"Hurry up," hastened Zora.

"Okay, I'm finished," I told her exasperatedly. '_Yes, things are definitely worse_,' I thought and stared uncertainly at Skyress's huge form floating in the sky.

"We'd like to get to the battle _today_," Zora commented snidely. I climbed onto the Bakugan, trying desperately not to look down. My hands tangled themselves in her feathers, and I took deep breaths to stabilize myself. Shun stood effortlessly beside me, gazing at me with one eyebrow raised.

I felt my hold on consciousness loosen, and Zora said loudly, "Get a grip, will you?" Then Skyress took off at max velocity. The wind rushed past me, and I buried my face in the feathers. What if we fell? I must have looked strange to him, curled into a ball, eyes squeezed shut, but I didn't worry about that. Fear dominated every thought, and images of falling flashed through my mind. Who would catch us if something went wrong?

**My body was paralyzed, eyes locked on the figure tearing through the sky toward me. If I didn't do something, I'd be done for. The core would be gone. I'd have let everyone down. Shun couldn't stop him. Not alone. **_**I**_** was on my own, wasn't I?**

"..wrong with her, Shun!" Skyress told him, distressed. A hand clamped down on my shoulder and shook me. Eyes still closed, I felt the wind stop blowing, and I was picked up and placed on the ground. I opened them once I felt the earth beneath my feet.

Shun stood at a distance from me and looked in the opposite direction, though I couldn't see what he was staring at. "You should have told me you were afraid of flying." He stated.

"Couldn't you tell? She was about to pass out on the way here," my Bakugan pointed out.

"Yeah, I figured that much out," he responded. "Heads up, Skyress. There he is."

And truly, there he was, still quite a distance away, but he was there. Hairadee. Long green and yellow tentacles protruded from his head, but didn't manage to cover his pointy ears. The sick smirk on his face hadn't changed. His eyes were blood red, and he had some sort of green armor on.

"Ready to battle?" he asked all of us.

"Yes, we must make our two worlds safe once again." Skyress answered, crying out like a hawk.

I made eye contact with him, the doubt as obvious as my fear of flying. "Um, about that…"

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Cliff hanger! I'll try to get the next chapter out quicker, but in the mean time, review!

_**Cocoacharm15**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hello, everyone! This chapter took oh so long because (1) school and (2) it was hard to write. So anyway I hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: Bakugan Battle Brawlers belongs to Nelvana. In other words, it does not belong to me.**_

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Chapter 9

"What do you mean you've never battled before?" Shun asked me in an accusatory tone, deep topaz eyes staring me down. Hairadee was temporarily forgotten, and his attention was completely on me, which didn't help at all.

"Zora wasn't mine until recently, and that's why I didn't have any cards with me." I mumbled, eyes averted to the old wooden buildings surrounding us so as to not meet his gaze.

He thought about this, eyes locked on the intruder again as I took a chance and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. My explanation hadn't been very thorough, and honestly, it was just an excuse. I _really_ did not want to battle.

Shun turned to me again. "Alright then, stay behind me and think about how to use those cards Kato gave you. You've seen a battle, right?"

I nodded. What else could I do? Either way, he and Skyress weren't going to let me out of their sights, so I might as well be useful. Zora jumped impatiently on my shoulder. I knew she was just itching to comment on how badly this was going to turn out to with me here, but for the moment, she kept her trap shut.

"Good. Get ready, Skyress."

She turned to face us, since she'd been focused on Hairadee as well and he was rapidly closing in.

"You'll do just fine, Nicole. Shun and I will protect you," she assured me. I managed to fake a smile.

I wanted to ask how they were going to protect me and fight him, but Zora beat me to it. "You two are going to have your hands full with Hairadee alone. Are you sure you want to bother so much with Nicole?"

"Are you not planning on joining the battle?" Shun asked her, again accusing.

Zora scoffed. "I don't have any ties to humans like so many other fellow Bakugan do." _That's a lie_, I thought. She may not have ties to me, but there was someone else. Shun narrowed his eyes, preparing for a comeback, but a strong gust of wind suddenly blew over us, cutting his sentence short.

From seemingly every direction, ice rained down, quickly enveloping a few of the adjacent buildings. Shun pushed me back and out of harm's way. A little more to the left and I could've been nailed!

"Well, what do we have here?" My head snapped up just in time to see Hairadee hovering above us as he spoke in a mocking tone. "Skyress and her human? Is that the best the Brawlers could do?" He snorted, and following Shun's orders, I hid behind him, trying to keep myself out of Hairadee's view.

"Don't hide, human!" he yelled unexpectedly, and I froze. He closed in on us. "I can clearly see that you're there." This would have been a good time for Shun to pull off a surprise attack, since he was so close, but instead he just glared.

Our opponent smirked back, but then his eyes—trained on me—widened, and the smirk grew larger. "You're the one with the core? Ha, this is easier than I thought! We don't have to go through a Bakugan to get it, and there is only a single Brawler protecting it!" He laughed menacingly.

"That is enough, Hairadee. To get to her, you'll have to go through me!" Skyress shouted at him, blocking me with a wing.

"Please, Skyress, you're facing the greatest Bakugan warrior that Naga has! You can't defeat me. Last time I let you win, but it won't be like that today! I don't mind taking you or your human out!" His lifted his hand, open palm visible. "Cryst—"

"Feather blast!" A high-pitched voice called out, interrupting Hairadee's attack and bombarding him from behind with feathers. He grunted and scanned his surroundings, spotting a flash of green zooming past him.

"Hey there, Grandma!" greeted the small winged girl who now floated next to Skyress. It was obvious she was a Ventus Bakugan, if her wild green and yellow hair and her Harpy-like appearance were any indication.

"Harpis! It is good that you have shown up," welcomed Skyress. A young boy with tan skin and a hat ran toward us shouting something to Shun.

"Komba? What are you two doing here?" he asked, puzzled.

"Harpis and I are here to help Master Shun," he answered with a huge smile on his face. He threw a confused glance at me, which I reciprocated.

Hairadee, who had since recovered from the sudden attack, seemed unfazed. "Big deal! Another Bakugan won't make a difference." I don't think he'd notice the Darkus Bakugan settled on my shoulder. I turned to look at Zora, only to discover she wasn't there.

"Crystal missiles!" Ice shards flew out from his palm. Skyress, acting quickly, flew between us and the shards, blocking them with her wings wrapped around herself like a cocoon. Where the heck had she gone to?

Shun, too absorbed in the enemy, didn't pay attention to me frantically searching for my Bakugan. "Nice job, Skyress! Now get ready, Hairadee. Destruc—"

"Not so fast, human, Shadow Aggressor!" In the blink of an eye, Hairadee had disappeared, leaving Shun and Skyress no openings for an assault. A small ball rolled in front of Harpis, evidently attempting an escape. Zora.

Without thinking I ran forward, every fiber in my being focused on retrieving Zora. I dashed past both Ventus Bakugan, ignoring the ice coating the ground and gently picked up Zora.

"What do you think you're—" she began, infuriated.

"Nicole!" Shun yelled, and I remembered the present danger: Hairadee and his invisibility.

He materialized in front of me, arm extended to grab me. Again, Shun darted to my side and jumped quickly onto Skyress, who took off into the sky. I clutched Zora tightly, trying to put together a plan in my head _and_ fight off nausea. _The cards, _I thought. That's exactly what I could use to help them out because Hairadee seemed to have more than his fair share of tricks up his sleeve. I tried to pull them out, but I had to open my eyes to examine them, which I couldn't do while flying. Shun noticed this and that Hairadee wasn't following us.

"We have to land. She might faint if we keep her up here any longer," he told his Bakugan. She complied and perched on top of a building, giving her a bird's eye view of the place. No Hairadee to be seen, just the other boy and Harpis coming our way.

"What were you thinking back there?" he questioned, grabbing me by the shoulders forcefully.

I shook my head, not answering. Instead I focused on maintaining my composure and fighting off an oncoming vision.

"Shun, he took off after you!" Komba informed him, out of breath.

"But he wasn't behind us. Did you see him Skyress?" I opened my eyes to make sure he wasn't around.

"I did not, Shun. He might be using his Shadow Aggressor. We will have to wait and see."

It was eerily silent for a moment, and I let my guard down, loosening my grip on Zora. She immediately leaped from my hands, off the building, and onto the ground.

"Zora! Get back here!" I yelled, climbing off after her.

"Hey, shouldn't you be sticking with us? I mean, you do have the core and all," Harpis reminded me matter-of-factly. Her partner stared back at her wide-eyed.

"Shun, we've gotta go after her," Komba concluded, climbing down by the time Shun had reached me.

"Don't you ever learn? We don't know where Hairadee went, so you can't just run off alone," he scolded, keeping a hand around my wrist to make sure I didn't leave.

"Zora keeps running away," I replied, lifting her to eye level. I couldn't believe her at times. I doubt there was anything that mattered to her anymore.

"Just let me leave, Nicole. I have better things to do than—"

"Than save both our worlds?" Shun finished, a fierce look etched onto his handsome face.

"Yes." She responded coldly.

Komba ran to us, exhausted, but determined to join our frigid conversation. An icy chuckle penetrated the tension created by Zora's selfishness.

"You know, with friends like that, who needs enemies?" Hairadee stood atop another building, but his smirk was one of triumph this time.

"Harpis," Komba lifted a card, "Feather storm!"

"Pathetic," he answered, brushing it away. "This is real power. Crystal Jail!" Ice bars formed a cage around Skyress and Harpis, hindering any attack or escape.

"Shun!" Skyress shouted.

"Hang on. Destruction Meteor Storm!" he threw a green-glowing card at the enclosure, but it bounced back. "What happened?" he asked Komba and me.

"My Crystal Jail nullifies any of your abilities. Now you humans are easy pickings," Hairadee announced in a sinister tone. Zora, struggling against me the entire time, suddenly stopped.

"Oh no, Harpis! Try to get out!" Komba yelled to her.

"I'm trying okay!"

Shun leaped up, heading straight for Hairadee, even though it was crazy to think he could fight him with his bare hands. The enemy shook his head in disgust, easily blowing him away and sending him barreling into one of the weakened structures. Komba inadvertently barreled into the building with him in an attempt to catch him.

And then there was one.

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Remember that constructive criticism through reviews is always welcome!

_**Cocoacharm15 **_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Okay, readers, I apologize for the holdup, but I appreciate those who continue to read (and review!). I'd like especially thank those of you who have added this story to alerts or favorites. You make my day! **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Bakugan mentioned ('cept Zora) or the characters which belong to Nelvana.**_

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Chapter 10

Hairadee came at me in a blur, the wind slicing past his sleek, angled form. Never much of an optimist, I didn't see any other way out of my predicament beside, you know, _dying_. And that probably went hand in hand with losing the Core. Running was out of the question—he'd catch me in seconds with my back turned. Was I willing to give it up even though I'd promised myself to help them out? No, but no better ideas came to mind at this point.

Time slowed for a moment as my thoughts flickered back to Zora. Even as my impending doom closed in on me, anger boiled inside of me urging to be let loose on the idiotic Bakugan I had the misfortune to own. She hadn't made any moves to leave again, but the damage was done. I knew. They knew. Hell, the whole world knew! She didn't want to be partnered with me.

**How could I surrender after all the times they'd sacrificed for me? I'd helped but it wasn't enough. Not if I was going to quit now. Not if I allowed him to have his way when I was so close to pulling through. My hands formed fists at my sides and—**

I didn't let this one finish. I was going to make a stand—whether final or not—and Zora was going to help me. I wasn't giving her a choice. Like I'd seen the others do, I grasped her in the palm of my hand, holding her for only a second before letting her go into the space before me. Acting on impulse, my heart thumped faster as I called out the words I'd heard plenty of times before.

"Zora, stand!"

She'd barely managed some sort of degrading insult aimed at me when a dark purple light consumed the small figure. I grinned, exhilarated at the thought of summoning my first Bakugan. I watched in awe as Zora grew to her full height, petite when compared to the Bakugan the other Brawlers owned. A loose plum-colored vest rested over a mauve shirt, a belt cinching them in place, and leggings the same deep color as the vest covered her lower half. Her obsidian skin glowed in the daylight, diverting attention from the cropped silver hair on her head—which barely managed to cover her pointed ears—and stormy grey eyes. She stood on the tips of her toes, barefoot, clawed hands instinctively reaching for the sheath located on her hip.

Hairadee braked suddenly, a confused expression crawled onto his face, further twisting his horrific set of features.

"What? Where did you come from?" he choked out. I thought I'd heard a quiver in his voice, but his face gave away nothing.

Zora glowered at me, the angled qualities of her small face becoming more pronounced. Our enemy simply shrugged and launched himself at her. I couldn't react, thoughts crossing my mind more slowly than before. She managed to dance out of the way, moving nimbly across the icy terrain. Her advantage didn't last long, though, as Hairadee again used his Shadow Aggressor.

The Darkus Bakugan glanced about herself, frustrated, until ice shards struck her from behind. Hairadee cackled as she recovered, repeatedly assaulting her with one attack after the next.

"Hey, Nicole!" she yelled at me in between blows. "You put me in this battle, so how about helping out?"

I shook my head, trying to get back to my senses. "Uh," I began ineloquently.

"Hurry!" she bellowed, using a moment of distraction to draw her sword. The long pale lavender blade easily blocked some incoming ice but not all.

My hands shook as I shuffled through the cards. Which one to use? They all looked the same to me, no distinction evidently apparent between any two. I was aware that I was standing out in the open, nothing protecting me and that I'd been gnawing on my lip so much it began to bleed. An explosion sounded from the building the guys had flown into, and I jumped with a shriek, all the cards scattering across the ground.

I cursed under my breath as I bent to pick them up before loud screech of pain—Skyress and Harpis, I recognized immediately—sent me into a panic. I reached out blindly, vaguely hearing Zora's impatient demands to pick a card.

**This could not be happening. He couldn't possibly be standing right in front of me now. Even as the water sprinkled me, I couldn't believe I was awake. All this time we thought he was gone. Zora and I—we—oh God he just had to be fake! An illusion! The ground beneath me didn't move, though, and I pinched myself, all to no avail. He didn't disappear and the sobs didn't die. **

For a moment, I froze, wanting to decipher the meaning of the vision, but then Zora leaped over me, landing behind me as if using me as a shield. I shot her a questioning glance, and she panted and pointed toward the ice jail. Hairadee had been sidetracked by the two Ventus Bakugan, after Harpis insulted him, I assumed, and now he was exacting revenge.

"Why aren't you helping them?" I hissed at Zora, who was still trying to catch her breath. She didn't look harmed in the least, though.

She scowled in return. "I'm a little busy here. Besides, I can't do much without ability!"

I turned in time to see Hairadee preparing another assault on the battered Bakugan. "You want an ability? Fine!" I decided, infuriated. Selecting a card at random, I held it up like everyone else had done.

"Finally," she muttered, bouncing after him. _Name?_ I asked myself. And suddenly, without even putting much thought into it, its name popped into my mind. "Copycat," I whispered.

"Crystal Missiles!"

"Copycat," I repeated, louder. A light shined from the card in my hand and then the blade of Zora's sword also glowed as sharp ice shards flew from it. They intercepted the ones headed toward Skyress and Harpus, some flying farther and penetrating him. He cried out in pain, and I let out an uncharacteristic whoop of joy.

"So the little human wants to play?" he asked. A flash of movement caught my eye, directing my line of sight toward the wrecked building at my right. _Shun_. I quickly averted my gaze back toward Hairadee so as to not give away their presence. "You got a lucky shot in, but that won't happen again!"

"You don't scare me!" I yelled at him in an effort to seem more threatening than I actually was. Truthfully, the Venus-Aquos Bakugan intimidated me, but Zora was now backing me up (or so I hoped) and that gave me courage.

His wings angled back, and he dived toward Zora, not me, counting on his Shadow Aggressor to give him an advantage. I chose another card. "Double Dimension!"

I didn't worry about the fact that I initially had no idea what it did. It just felt like the right card. Although Copycat's effect was fairly obvious, this one would have left me stumped had it been any other time. Not now, though. The knowledge instantly took front and center in my mind as if it had always been there. Hairadee materialized, his form heading straight toward the pointed tip of Zora's blade.

"What the—" he began before a slash from her sword replaced his words with a howl.

"Double Dimension is an ability that allows me to neutralize an ability used by my opponent," I explained rather smugly. I was getting the hang of this whole brawling thing, and surprisingly, I was _enjoying_ it.

Suddenly, I heard Skyress's name ring out through the area in a hurt, low voice. I turned around to observe Shun crouching on the roof, bowed over his guardian Bakugan with what seemed like tears running down his cheeks. Shun…crying? That couldn't have been right. Why would he cry? He was supposed to be watching over me, being strong because I wasn't. _I_ was the one who felt like breaking down every passing moment because of all the crap that had been going on.

My eyes were still trained on him when a blinding light erupted from behind Harpis, forcing me to turn away. I concentrated instead on the battle at hand, but to my surprise both of the Bakugan had ceased their fight as the glow grew brighter. The light reminded me of that time in the alley, the time the core had buried itself within me. It was a moment of slight uncertainty, but just as quickly as it had appeared, the light dissipated.

Slowly, my gaze returned to Shun only to see Hairadee's Crystal Jail gone. Skyress gradually took flight again, as did Harpis, but an unknown Bakugan floated beside them. A rare smile graced Shun's lips as he watched his Bakugan with an elated expression. My feet pulled me forward to meet him as he jumped down to terra firma where another guy was standing.

"That was my Tentaclear's Gamma Ray ability, which allowed me to nullify his ability!" the bald guy yelled. Not only did he lack hair, but he was built. Seriously, this man had to be some sort of bodybuilder judging by the size of his fairly obvious muscles. This was only emphasized by the tight black shirt he wore paired with a white sleeveless jacket. His Bakugan, a free-floating eyeball with tentacles protruding, was Haos.

"Julio!" greeted Komba. "Nice going. You freed Harpis and Skyress." Shun nodded.

"I'm just here to help," he replied modestly. Tentaclear blinked in response.

Zora promptly bounded over to us, giving the other Bakugan a defiant stare while they looked her over. Even Shun's topaz eyes widened, his gaze flickering between Zora and me, visibly doubting my capacity as a Brawler, not that I blamed him.

"Let's finish him off, guys," he declared, whipping out another card. "Gate card set!"

Hairadee scoffed at that, his countenance a not-so-surprising leer. "Just try humans! The only one being finished here is you, and I'll be taking the girl with me."

"Pathetic," Shun scolded. "Gate card open! Hyper merge!" He crossed his arms with a smirk. "In case, you're wondering Hairadee, this gate card increases our power level by one hundred times the amount of Bakugan on our side and it gets better. Your power will be decreased by the same amount." Our opponent attempted another attack, only resulting in Tentaclear blocking it with ease.

I wanted to help, but as I prompted Zora to enter the fray, Shun shook his head.

"Destruction Meteor Storm!" he shouted.

"Feather Edge!" Komba added.

I guess when he said 'Let's finish him off guys,' he literally meant _guys_.

Harpis's wings radiated like a blade in a blacksmith's workshop, their sharp edges looking just as deadly. Skyress was completely aglow, her form becoming that of a smoldering phoenix. A green phoenix, that is. Both glided past him, each leaving a deep gash in his body.

The explosion that followed was nothing like one out of a movie. There was no fire or thunderous boom. There was simply light and then sparkles rained down, taking with them every remnant of ice. I cringed, grossed out at the fact that these were tiny pieces of Hairadee drizzling on us. The others, however, didn't seem to mind as Komba and Harpis clung to Shun and Skyress, respectively. Julio looked indignant, fuming because no one seemed to be paying attention to him.

I wandered over to Zora, who appeared distinctly bored. Her quicksilver eyes caught mine.

"I hope you don't expect us to be like them," she warned, sheathing her sword and settling herself onto the ground with her legs crossed.

"No, I don't," I answered honestly, taking a seat beside her. "Thank you, though. I appreciate that you battled with me, even if it was reluctantly."

She raised a fine, silver eyebrow, but I saw the corner of her lip twitch upwards. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled.

I broke out into a ridiculous grin. Though I wouldn't admit it to her face, I was beginning to feel attached to the Darkus Bakugan. And maybe, since hell happened to be freezing over, she felt the same way about me.

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Okay, feedback is very much appreciated and needed to improve this story and my writing in general. Review!

_**Cocoacharm15**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Another chapter! Hooray! And no extremely dragged out wait between chapters? Must be a sign of the apocalypse! Anyway, a quick thing to note is that it has been brought to my attention (by AccessBlade) that some of the ages in the first chapter were incorrect. I'd like to apologize for that and inform you of the right ones:**_

_**Dan, Julie, and Runo are 12. Shun is 13. Alice is 14.**_

_**Without further ado, enjoy!**_

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Chapter 11

**The tulips danced in formation, each one beckoning me forward. Even the slight breeze flitted warmly. Everything seemed to be in order. The universe was balanced again. **

For those few minutes, sitting next to Zora, I felt strangely calm, as surprising as that may seem. It was almost as if some power-hungry Bakugan wasn't out to kill me. Almost. Reality caught up with me as Shun approached, probably bringing bad news. His golden orbs looked us over before he spoke, a small smile forming.

"You two did well against Hairadee," he complimented. I raised my eyebrows, and then frowned. Evidently, we didn't, since he didn't let us help out in the end.

Zora, with the ever obvious gift of speaking her mind, bristled at the comment. "We could've taken him out if you hadn't jumped in," she retorted, an annoyed scowl drawn across her features.

His eyes, now directed at Zora, turned cold. "I said you did well, but neither of you are ready to handle an entire battle on your own. Besides, I'm supposed to keep Nicole safe, not lead her into danger."

"If you ask me, bringing her here led her into danger," Zora snapped, swiftly getting to her feet and starting toward the others.

I merely shook my head. She was just trying to win an argument, something she naturally excelled in. It really didn't matter who it was with, but she had to fight, to dominate the opponent. That or totally humiliate them. Shun just happened to be at the receiving end of the quarrel. He glared momentarily at her before extending his gloved hand to me.

I stared at it, unsure of what he was doing.

"Are you coming or not?" That was a rhetorical question. As I've stated before, I didn't have a choice.

Nodding, I took hold of his hand, relishing in its firm grip. Once I was on my feet he let me go.

"Uh, yeah, and look," I paused, doubting whether or not I should even bother apologizing for my Bakugan, "I'm sorry about Zora. She's…testy."

"Don't worry about it." He responded simply.

We approached the others, and I had to stop myself from turning right back around. Harpis was screeching something at Julio with Komba backing her up and the Haos Brawler was shouting back, while Skyress tried unsuccessfully to mediate the argument. When the group caught sight of Shun, they froze. Komba brightened immediately and raced to embrace the boy with Harpus on his heels. I stood by, impressed that he commanded such authority over them, even of Komba _did_ worship him.

"Master Shun, what do we do now?"

The ninja extracted himself from the hug before answering.

"Our best bet is to find Naga." As if in agreement, his Bakupod activated, revealing Dan's worried face. The unmistakable sounds of a battle could be heard in the background along with Runo encouraging Tigrerra.

"Shun!" he shouted in distress.

"What is it, Dan?" the other responded calmly.

"We have a situation. Everyone showed up to help us defeat Centorrior and Druman, but we haven't finished them off yet, and Naga is on his way according to Druman. He's coming after Nicole." He paused and looked over at me. "You have to keep her safe, Shun. Hide her!" Dan demanded.

Shun shook his head. "No, Dan. If he wants her then he'll have to go through us. I'm taking the fight to him," he resolved.

Dan grunted in frustration. "Shun, that's crazy! You can't defeat Naga alone."

"You don't know until you try."

"Alright, but be careful. Go to the docks. We'll be there are soon as we can, and—Drago!" he yelled as the screen went black.

Everyone shared a look before mounting their Bakugan, except for me, of course. Now I was having second thoughts about the progressing friendship between Zora and me.

"Do you want to ride up here?" Shun asked quietly, and I couldn't help a prick of envy at seeing him standing so majestically on Skyress.

"She's riding with me, thank you very much," Zora replied rudely. I shrugged and climbed onto her open palm. She lifted me up her shoulder and I took a seat. It wasn't long before the Darkus Bakugan took off, nimbly keeping up on the ground while the two Ventus Bakugan flew and Tentaclear floated behind them.

"What a change of perspective, huh?" I pointed out, still calm because I knew Zora couldn't fly.

"What do you mean?" she questioned, easily dashing ahead of Skyress, who was leading us.

"Well, now I'm the one on your shoulder and you're the one carrying me around."

Zora chuckled, a ringing, bell-like sound which drew curious stares from the others. I gasped. Never had she so much as smiled for me, yet now she laughed and not _at_ me.

"What's so funny?" I asked a bit hesitantly.

"Well," she imitated, falling behind the Phoenix, "although our roles are reversed, I'll always be bigger than you."

"You win again, Zora," I admitted, huffing playfully.

"Always," she agreed with a smirk. "Always."

We continued in comfortable silence, neither one of us particularly inclined to break it. I stared in wonder at the deserted city. No longer was it the bustling metropolis I'd seen upon arrival. It was a ghost town, everyone having fled to avoid this phenomenon they couldn't explain. The traffic lights blinked yellow, not bothering to change colors anymore. Vehicles of all sorts awaited their owners patiently, serenely.

Even I, who was now headed toward imminent danger, couldn't bring myself to panic. I was past that. It was time to own up to the future and face it head on. Okay, so I honestly couldn't say I would embrace it with open arms, but I definitely wasn't running from it anymore. The Brawlers were brave and I had to be, too. Weakness wasn't an option anymore.

Skyress took a sudden left and the scenery changed. The gray skyscrapers vanished and steel cargo boxes littered the area, each one imprinted with a number and location. The turbulent ocean opened up in front of us and the sky thundered more violently than anywhere else, grays mixing with crimsons and vivid purples. The salty sea air was still and the gulls that usually inhabited the place were no where to be seen.

And neither was Naga for that matter. I hadn't seen him before, but I assumed he'd be big in an in-your-face kind of way. There were no other Bakugan here besides ours.

"What is this?" Julio asked impatiently. "Where's Naga?"

Skyress answered him. "I'm not sure. The Silent Core's energy was certainly emanating from this direction. I don't understand."

I felt a familiar chill spread through me, but this time a tugging sensation in my chest was added to it. I motioned for Zora to let me down.

"He's coming. I'm sure of it," I said. "The core is pulling me toward the ocean. I'm positive it's leading me toward its counterpart."

As I was about to elaborate, wind rushed past me, nearly blowing me away. Zora grabbed me by my collar, holding me down. Glancing upward, I saw Drago landing next to Skyress. The rest of the Brawlers arrived en masse, including many I hadn't seen before. Each one of them began to talk at once, voicing concerns, greetings, and other casual comments. A good majority of them had to do with Naga, that is, until Dan saw me standing there with Zora. He ran over to us.

"No way! This is Zora?" he exclaimed sizing her up. The others came as well, crowding around and overwhelming me with the noise. "Did you two actually battle?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Zora replied icily, instantly calming the racket.

Dan merely laughed good-naturedly, instead of blowing up like I'd expected him to. "'Course not! Just one more Brawler to help us out. Oh, man, I missed you guys in action. This bites! How was it, Shun?"

He cast me a fleeting look. "I didn't catch all of it, but from what I saw, these two are a great team."

I blushed, ducking my head down to hide it. Zora didn't snap at him this time, opting to smirk arrogantly instead.

"Cute." A smooth voice droned sardonically.

I didn't lift my head even as the Dan called him out or as Zora stiffened beside me.

"Nicole?" he prompted, and my stomach did flips in response and I began to feel lightheaded. The blush left my face and I paled. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined he'd be back. He couldn't be back, in fact. James was gone. That's what I'd believed these past few months. I'd seen him in my visions, but at the time I didn't know what to make of them. This was probably an illusion created by Naga to psych us out. _Yeah, that's right._ I summoned my courage and lifted my head proudly.

Bad idea.

James stood at the edge of the docks, his gloved hands holding an object in each: a Bakugan in his right hand and a gate card in the other.

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Remember to leave a review! They sure encourage me to keep writing.

_**Cocoacharm15**_


	12. Chapter 12

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All right! Updated in less than a week!

_**Disclaimer: Bakugan is owned by someone who isn't me. Bummer.**_

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Chapter 12

I felt bile rising in my throat. As much as I tried to convince myself that he wasn't really there, in actuality, no amount of denial could change the current situation. And it was making me physically ill. Where was the vision? I was experiencing all these feelings at once that something was bound to show up. I desperately willed the core to distract me with one so as to not see him in all his flawless glory.

He stood proudly before us, head held high with an uncharacteristic sneer stretched across his striking face. A fringe of ramrod-straight, blonde hair childishly fell into his eyes, but they didn't possess the kindness I'd come to love. The normally chartreuse eyes burned dark emerald with distinctive malevolence hidden in their depths. He was dressed in some sort of circus ringleader uniform with a red coat over black clothes and a top hat. Other than the eccentric clothes, there was no mistaking that it was James.

I opened my mouth to say something—anything—but sound refused to come forth. Zora seemed to be experiencing the same thing. The Brawlers exchanged looks with each other, confusion clearly written across their faces. The tugging in my chest increased, and I felt a dark, pulsating energy emanating from the Bakugan in his hand. There it was: the Infinity core's other half within reach. The positive energy within me protested wildly to be whole once again. Maybe that was the reason I didn't see anything; the core was far too busy announcing its presence to the Silent Core.

"What's the matter, Nicky? Tigrerra got your tongue?" he teased, like in the good old days, using the nickname I hadn't been called in almost half a year.

Shun turned toward me as I stepped forward, out of Zora's limp hold. "You know him?"

"Know me?" James shouted. "We grew up together!"

I trembled, my heart beating faster just from the sound of his voice. Reaching up to rub my face, I felt the moisture—tears freely escaping my traitorous eyes.

"J-James?" I asked cautiously. "It's really you?" He took a few steps toward me, and I involuntarily stepped forward to meet him. It wasn't the core pulling me this time; it was my deep-rooted feelings for him. Feelings that I should've buried long ago.

"Yes." He answered simply, smiling that thousand-watt grin he reserved only for me. It didn't reach his eyes, but I could've cared less at the moment. I began to move toward him when Shun grabbed my hand.

"You can't trust him," he whispered in my ear. Despite logic trying to reason with me, I struggled against it, and Shun's arms became a steel cage. Zora made a break for it, but Gorem quickly prevented her from going to him.

"Let me go!" she roared, futilely striving for freedom as I was.

James strolled to us leisurely. "Ah, Zora, so good to see you again. Has Nicky been taking care of you? I hope so. It'd be a shame if I left you in the wrong hands."

"Who is this jerk, Nicole?" Dan asked, his dark eyes angrily glaring James down.

James locked eyes with me, placing a hand over his chest dramatically. "Nicky, I'm hurt. You didn't tell your new friends about me? After everything we've been through?"

I shook my head stiffly, jaw clenched tightly.

"No? Well, are _all_ these people your friends?"

"Of course we are!" yelled Runo.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "That's surprising. You always were terrible at making friends."

I froze. _You always were terrible at making friends. _An innocent enough phrase, but it stung as if he'd backhanded me in the face. This wasn't my James anymore. Never in the years I'd known him had he demonstrated cruelty. Now it oozed from his being, coating every syllable his perfect lips uttered.

"But you know what surprises me even more?" He plowed forward when no one answered. "_You_ have the Infinity Core." He chuckled darkly, his idea of a joke. "You, Nicole Adams—who has never brawled in her life—are now smack dab in the middle of this whole mess. Ironic, isn't it?"

_Liar!_ I wanted to scream. He'd piled lies on top of more deceits than I was willing to accept. I wanted to sob and let disappointment drown me. Nothing would've made me happier than to hurl every negative emotion at him that I'd felt since his death—that's right, death—but I hesitated. James brought me down, lower than dirt, when before I'd been on cloud nine because of him. And the other's couldn't do much except stare and feel pity.

"You know what is ironic?" An unexpected, eerily calm voice came to my rescue.

"What is it, Zora?" he inquired, still smiling.

"You were the one behind this the entire time." He raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment.

Preyas spoke up next. "Um, hello? Major confusion going on here! Would somebody mind explaining?"

All eyes focused on me. This was it. Time to spill the one secret I'd held from everyone. Hypocrisy, I know. No secrets in a team, and here I was, holding what was probably the biggest secret of all.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice hoarse from crying. Slowly, I broke away from the safe arms of the number one Ventus Brawler. "So sorry." I bit my lip again, bracing for my confession. "I've kept a secret."

"Whatever happened to no secrets?" Shun reminded me coldly.

"I know what I said, okay?" I snapped. "James. I saw him in plenty of visions, but I never told any of you. If anything, I should have told you, Zora. Forgive me." I might as well have looked behind me to meet Zora's mercury eyes because she was, in all likelihood, glaring murderously at me. Death was out to get me anyway.

"You're asking for my forgiveness?" she asked incredulously, but I remained a statue.

"Yes. I'm imploring or all of you for forgiveness," I responded sincerely.

How betrayed they must of felt. All this time—though I'd refused to acknowledge it—on some subconscious level I'd known James had everything to do with this. How much would that have helped end this?

I don't know.

The progress I'd made with Zora most likely went down the drain as well. Only then did I realize how quickly feelings can die and be born. I'd become increasingly loyal to Zora while hate simmered for my one time best friend.

James clicked his tongue, obviously unsatisfied with that small exchange. "Is that it?"

I glared at him defiantly. "No, that's not it!" I met everyone's gaze for a moment, straying on Shun for longer than necessary. He stared back, his attractive features as unreadable as ever. "There's more."

"No," Zora interposed. "I'll tell them." She stepped between James and me, blocking me with her form, but appearing immensely concentrated on the boy in front of us. "Six months ago, this…this…bastard, for lack of a better word, was my partner. As opposed to Nicole and me, we actually got along. Six months ago, he was declared dead."

The blonde let out a sigh. "Sad night, wasn't it? I was supposedly in an automobile accident, and you blamed Nicky because you believed she could've seen it coming and saved me. I could always count on you to be irrational, Zora," he commented coolly, like we were all chums having a good time reminiscing.

"And I thought I could count on you to be honest," was her hostile comeback.

"Why did you do it?" My voice sounded braver than I felt inside, and the core still fought for freedom.

His powerful stare drilled through me, silence filling the tension in the air. Then a smirk. "You almost sounded intimidating. Let's find out how tough you really are. Gate card set…

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The next chapter will be a carefully orchestrated battle scene, so there may be some delay. Don't say I didn't warn ya. As always, remember to review! I enjoy knowing what the readers think!

_**Cocoacharm15**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Okay, it has been exactly two weeks, but I present to you all now, the battle between James and Nicole. Well, most of the battle at least.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan nor will I in the foreseeable future.**_

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In the previous chapter…

"_Why did you do it?" My voice sounded braver than I felt inside, and the core still fought for freedom._

_His powerful stare drilled through me, silence filling the tension in the air. Then a smirk. "You almost sounded intimidating. Let's find out how tough you really are. Gate card set…_

**Chapter 13**

Completely ignoring my question, James flicked his gate card lazily, and it landed at my feet in a burst of purple light. His smirk didn't fade as I weighed my options. Simply put, he challenged me to a brawl. I could either back down and have one of the true Brawlers fight it for me—as if Zora would ever let me live that down—or I could take a stand and face him. Ex-best friend on one hand and current friends on the other.

"I'll take you on!" Dan shouted before I could respond, pumping his fist into the air.

Shun stopped him, holding an arm out in front of the Pyrus Brawler. "No, Dan. This isn't your battle to fight."

"What?" he gasped indignantly. "If I'm not going to brawl him, then who is?" His eyes searched the gathered Brawlers before settling on me.

Looks like the choice was made. If I had to protect the core, then I would defend it on my own. I didn't need everyone to shield me as if I was a child. And besides that, James had betrayed me. I separated myself from them, looking him in the eyes defiantly. "He challenged me. I will be the one to brawl." My voice broke at the end. Searching for support, I locked eyes with Zora, and she nodded, joining me in front of the others.

James chuckled loudly, sending chills through my body almost as strong as the mention of the Silent Core did. "That's the spirit, Nicky. Even though any one of the others has a better chance of winning, you're going to doom them all. Admirable, but foolish."

"You're underestimating her," Shun intervened quietly. "I know you don't stand a chance against Nicole."

Wow. That's all I had to say. Shun had so much confidence in me, more than I deserved. Sure, Zora wouldn't acknowledge the chance of defeat, but me? I wasn't quite so arrogant. I doubt the other Brawlers felt the same way, judging by the whispers I caught, each one showing surprise and hesitation toward the idea of me brawling James.

James brushed away Shun's comment, directing his next sentence at me again. "So are going to throw down or not?"

I nodded fiercely, whipping out the collection of cards at my side, my hands shaking while I tried to sort through them. "Oh," he added, a dangerous gleam in his jade eyes, "how about we do this the old-fashioned way, you know, three on three."

Again I nodded. What did it matter if it was one on one or three on three? My chances of winning were slim, admittedly. I'd battled, what, once? One time did not make me an expert, or even a beginner, at that. Sure, I'd seen plenty of battles, mostly his, but experiencing was a totally different thing than watching. It frightened me.

And he knew that.

That's why the stupid smirk on his lips widened as he looked on passively, waiting for me to set a gate card.

What to do? Zora sent one more glare at her former partner and reverted to her spherical form, perching on my shoulder. I pretended to be deep in thought as I fanned out the gate cards in my hands. That was a half-truth. I was thinking all right, but my thoughts continued to drift toward a certain antagonist. Zora bounced anxiously on my shoulder, one of her more less-irritating ways of telling me to get a move on.

"Which one?" I whispered to her, risking a glance behind me at the others. Each one expressed justified apprehension, some biting their lips, others fidgeting uneasily. Only Shun stood calmly, and I silently thanked him for it. Someone out of all of us needed to be steady.

She sighed impatiently. "Pick that one. The one in the middle." _Tradeoff_, I learned instantly, _defeats a Bakugan with a power level over 400_. Well, it looked as good as any to choose. Zora had the practice, so who was I to doubt her? I chucked it across the field, and it settled itself at his feet.

"Congratulations on setting your first gate card," he sneered, throwing another card down to the left his first. "Bakugan brawl. Laserman, stand!" The small, purple ball rolled forward and opened on the second card. The robot-like beast stood, four massive cannons jutting out of its shoulders. It faced me menacingly, and I gulped.

"Get to it, Nicole!" Zora scolded in my ear. "Which Bakugan did the old guy give you?" No clue, I answered in my head while I held up two purple spheres. She stared at them thoughtfully. "A Siege and a Garganoid. Neither of them matches up to Laserman's power."

I raised an eyebrow in question. Had she been able to, Zora would have rolled her eyes at my ignorance.

"The Bakupod!" she reminded me with annoyance. I smiled sheepishly, flipping the small device open.

The automated voice spoke up immediately. "Laserman power level at five zero zero G's."

"See?" she pointed out justly. "It's better to send out one of them onto your gate card, okay?"

I saw how that would evade a battle, but an ability card would raise our power, right? I asked her about this to which she remarked, "I'm the one who has actually brawled here, so will you trust me?"

I resigned myself to listen to Zora, since she always seemed to be right, throwing Garganoid onto Tradeoff. It emerged in a spiral shape, shooting straight up before expanding the wings wrapped around its body and revealing his Gargoyle-like face.

"Perfect, Zora," James muttered, "You haven't changed a bit, as predictable as always." He raised a different card. "Ability card, activate. Leap Sting!" I glanced at his Bakugan, now taking aim at my Garganoid.

"Hey! You can't attack Garganoid. He's on a different gate card," I protested, only to have Zora jump and tackle my forehead. "Ouch!"

"Leap Sting is an ability that Laserman can use to attack anywhere on the field, genius," she informed, settling back down on my head this time.

Sure enough, Laserman fired a continuous stream of lavender blasts from its cannons, all striking my Bakugan head on. Garganoid shrank back into a ball and clattered to the floor beside me while Laserman returned to James extended hand. That was the first battle, and I'd lost it.

"Don't feel too bad," James taunted. "I think everyone here knew you couldn't win. My move." He chose to summon another Bakugan on the same card, this time a Centipoid. The threatening insect creature rose up, wiggling its many legs and snapping two sharp pincers—its mouth probably—together.

"Okay, Nicole, don't screw things up again." The Darkus Bakugan on my head chided.

"Me?" I responded crossly. "I was only doing what you said."

She huffed. "Whatever. Now set that card," she leaped down and tapped the indicated card, "and summon Siege onto it."

It didn't seem to me that her strategy, avoiding battle, would work. I mean, I'd lost one Bakugan already, and at this rate, it wasn't long before I lost Siege, too, and possibly Zora. Still, I was in no position to criticize, so I set my second card next to James's first. I rolled my second to last Bakugan, gazing in respect at the Darkus being that emerged. Siege was a true knight, carrying a sharp lance and wearing a cape that billowed behind him gently. Sensing my eyes, he turned and nodded at me, as if saying it trusted me. Well, that was new.

James quickly dished out a new card next to _my_ first for a total of five gate cards. His next move caught me off guard. He sent his Laserman into a direct battle with Siege. With a few hits, Laserman had pushed Siege to the edge of the card. Siege couldn't be that much weaker than Laserman, could he? I checked the Bakupod to be sure.

"Laserman power level at five zero zero G's. Siege power level at four zero zero G's." Okay, Siege was at a one hundred point disadvantage. Zora nagged me to open the gate card, and I promptly complied.

"Gate card, open! Grand Spirit. James, this card gives Siege a power boost of fifty G's for every card of mine on the field." I couldn't help being a little smug watching the Bakupod as Siege gained one hundred G's, tying the battle at five hundred G's each. Siege fought back now, and they matched each other's attacks blow for blow. If they battled at an equal power level, then no winner would be declared and both would return to their owners. I was more willing to accept a tie than another defeat.

"Tsk, tsk, Nicky. Take a page out of Zora's book and learn that arrogance gets you nowhere," he said, holding up another ability. "Ability card activate!" "Dimension Four!" He grinned like a Cheshire cat. "With this, your gate card is useless. Finish Siege, Laserman."

I fell to my knees. Siege's power dropped, and he landed beside me. No way, not another battle lost.

"What was that?" Zora questioned furiously.

James, as expected, behaved on the contrary, snickering and cheering as if he'd won the entire thing already. The other Brawlers remained silent, unsure whether to encourage me or give up hope. But this wasn't over, not until I decided it was.

"You haven't won yet!" I yelled at him, standing and finding the guts to retort in his spiteful eyes.

His eyes widened in mild surprise. "Oh, haven't I? This battle was over before it began, _Nicole_." I flinched at the icy sound of my name. "All you have left is puny Zora. Face it, you and your pathetic friends are done for."

"Puny?" she yelled, offended, murmuring various vague threats that I was sure he couldn't hear.

I shook my head, whispering to myself, "No, I _will_ win." Then, when Zora pestered me about the next move, I spoke up.

"Zora, it's time for a change of plans. We're doing things my way now." I grabbed her, calculating all the while.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope," I answered, deciding to throw her into a battle with Centipoid. Zora reluctantly stood, sending me a scathing look.

"How nice of you to finally join the party, Zora," James drawled, tossing one of his Bakugan in the air and catching it. It was the same one from before that had been emitting the dark energy. Instinctively, I shivered, attempting to ward away the frigid sensation.

"Shut it, James," Zora bit out, backing away slowly from Centipoid. The Bakupod warned me of his higher power level, but apparently a sixty point difference wasn't enough for James.

"Gate card, open. Character!"

I knew from previous battles that a Character card doubled a certain Bakugan's power, but now that I was playing like I knew how, my next move was obvious. "Ability card, activate! Mirror Drain!" I held up the card and watched it glow purple. "When my opponent activates an ability that increases G's, this card allows me to drain your Bakugan of the amount it gained times two."

His eyebrows knit together in confusion, since it was seemingly impossible in his world for me to make a decent move. I then witnessed his lips moving softly, as if whispering to himself, or more likely, to the Bakugan in his hand.

It was my turn to smirk when his Centipoid's power level reached zero, and the Bakugan automatically was removed from the battle, making Zora the winner.

"That was alright," she grumbled, back turned when I caught her in my hand. I allowed myself a smile and felt my confidence boost when the team rooted my victory.

For the next move, I tossed Zora onto my first card, directly in front of my new arch-nemesis. Soon after, his Laserman joined in. Zora was down by one hundred and sixty G's, and in response, Zora strung together a colorful array of foul words aimed at James. The cannons directed themselves at her, but she narrowly avoided the discharges.

"Gate card, open! Tradeoff!" Immediately, Laserman's sphere clanked to the floor. "With Tradeoff, I can—"

"I know what it does," he barked out, his gaze flickering between me and the Brawlers. I set another gate card in the same spot, Zora following it soon after.

"What do you have to say now, punk?" she jeered, staying put for once in the middle of the field.

He merely shook his head. "Gate cards, return," he commanded simply, his two remaining cards flying back to his outstretched hand. I glanced at Shun, puzzled over whether that was allowed in the game. And if it was, how come I hadn't seen it done before?

The ninja met my eyes, and he seemed as perplexed as I was. "Hey, that's against the rules!" he shouted at him, Dan nodding angrily in agreement and pitching in with a, "What gives, James?"

"Sorry, but I play by my own…rules," he hissed, dragging out the last word.

Then he faced me, almost smiling for a second before the sneer took over. "You asked me why I faked my own death.

"It's simple, really," he began. "Power."

"Power?" I echoed hollowly, seeing Zora tense and shift her position into a crouch. I really hoped she wasn't planning on pouncing on him.

"That's right. You see, I brawled well, but I was never ranked. You can't imagine how frustrating that was, knowing you were the best, but not being recognized for it. Zora was unbelievably haughty about it, but she didn't see the big picture.

"Then, about a month before my death, I learned of the race to become the Ultimate Bakugan. It was my break. Secretly, I contacted Masquerade and told him I wanted to join in, but he refused. When Masquerade's identity was revealed," he paused, jade orbs falling on Alice, the copper-haired girl that seemed gentle and fragile. Honestly, I didn't know much about her, other than she battled with a fearsome-looking Darkus Bakugan. But the way he scrutinized her made me jump to one conclusion: she had been Masquerade, whoever that was. My thoughts were in knots, and I focused back on his talk.

"When she took off the mask, Hal G personally invited me to take his place. All I had to do was break ties with my former life, which wasn't terribly difficult."

He turned to Zora, her frown intensifying with each word he spoke. "Zora, no offense…actually, take offense. You weren't cut out to be the best. I mean, all this time and you haven't evolved, unlike all these other worthless Bakugan." He gestured to the assembled Bakugan. "And besides, I knew that if you ever learned the truth, you and Nicole would never get along enough to do anything about it."

"Take that back!" I demanded, surprised at where all this inner strength was coming from.

He scoffed. "This is what power looks like, Zora. If you survive, maybe you'll learn something. Bakugan Brawl!" He rolled his final Bakugan onto my card where Zora now stood. The beast's eyes glowed violet before an eruption of darkness enveloped the field. "Nicky, meet Naga."

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How was that? The end of this tussle will be out sometime next week, so that's not too long. Oh, and that will most likely be the second to last chapter, followed by an epilogue. As always, remember to leave a review. Feedback it a major encouragement!

_**Cocoacharm15**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Hello! Okay, I worked my butt off on this chapter, and I really love the way it turned out. Hope you all think the same!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do wish that maybe, possibly, there were some way for me to own Bakugan, but alas, I do not. Nor do I own Yugioh or the genius of LittleKuriboh.**_

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Previously in Senses of Darkness…

"_Drago, I think I'm pregnant," Wayvern confessed, looking worriedly at the Pyrus Dragonoid that seemed frozen in place, "and Preyus is the father!"_

_---_

"_Shun, don't leave me!" Julie pleaded loudly into the Bakupod, tears cascading down her tanned face. _

_The ninja averted his eyes for a moment before answering coldly, "I'm sorry, Julie, but it's just not working out between us." _

"_But I love you!" _

_---_

_Wayvern shifted uncomfortably under the Dragonoid's intense emerald gaze. Finally, she took a breath and began. "Drago, I think I'm pregnant, and Gorem's the father!"_

_---_

"_Zora!"Dan shouted bewilderedly. "So you're the one who mauled Marucho!" _

"_Yes," she admitted boldly, holding her lavender blade high above her head, the wind ruffling her cropped, silver hair. "It was I!"_

_---_

"_Drago, I think I'm pregnant," Wayvern declared, staring straight into Drago's shocked jade orbs, "and Hydranoid's the—"_

"_No freaking way." He interrupted, disbelief obvious in his tone._

_Wayvern caved. "Okay, I lied about that one." _

_---_

"_Nicole, you don't stand a _ghost_ of a chance!" James snarled, lips curled to show his teeth, before finishing with a bloodcurdling chuckle._

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"_Drago," Skyress commenced slowly, unsure of whether to continue or chicken out. She chose the former. "I think I'm pregnant, and you're the father!" _

And now, the thrilling conclusion! Wait a minute, did any of that stuff actually happen?

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Chapter 14

Zora's POV

I rather like daytime soap operas. Although I wouldn't admit it to anyone, those convoluted, plot-hole laden dramas always captured my attention when I wasn't brawling. Coincidently, that was exactly what I was watching the day Nicole dragged me to Wardington. Until it was interrupted by a special news bulletin, that is.

One bad thing about soap operas, though, is that they only tend to be interesting while watching them. It is not quite so entertaining to be involved in one. And a soap opera is exactly what this was becoming.

The guy taken for dead comes out of nowhere because it was all part of his evil plan. He abandoned the two females in his life, and now he expects them to welcome him with open arms although one has found a new love. Now it's a love triangle, and meanwhile, a different romance, characterized by immature denial on both sides, is unfolding, i.e. Dan and Runo.

Okay, so maybe I over exaggerated, but most of that was…somewhat true.

Oh, and to put the icing on the cake, as humans say, said evildoer had now summoned his strongest, potentially lethal Bakugan. No, today was not my day, nor was any other day, for that matter, since nothing _good_ ever happened to me.

All I could do was step back as the colossal split-nose dragon roared mightily, the dark energy from the Silent Core drowning out all other powers. Oh, man, what had Nicole gotten me into? I glanced back at her, only to observe the way she swayed on the spot. She was fainting! Why now? I stared a moment longer and felt the answer. The energy within her was steadily increasing, and her frail human body couldn't take it.

"Hey!" I yelled at her. "What do you think you're doing?" Her unfocused eyes looked up blankly. "You'd better not faint on me! I…I need you help, okay?" I acknowledged, practically feeling my ego shriveling up.

I saw her shake her head, to clear it probably, and she gave me a weak smile. It was unnerving, to say the least, sensing the power within her rising and falling. The same happened within Naga. They were having their own battle to see which aura would come out on top: positive and the Infinity Core or negative and the Silent Core.

It seemed that the Silent Core was winning. She trembled violently; her dark eyes glazed over and she lost her balance. Before she would hit her head again, though, the stoic long-haired boy caught her in his arms. I couldn't tell if she was out cold because a voice more chilling than that of James's rumbled and commanded attention.

"Well, sister, it's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked mockingly, examining the other White One, who stood by Joe.

"Naga, do you not see the harm you're doing to both our worlds?" she exclaimed, hurt dripping from her voice.

"Wayvern, the question here is do _you_ not see the power I have gained? Almost nothing is beyond me," he boomed. "All I need to complete my power is the Infinity Core the girl holds. If she could take it from you, then this will be easier than I expected."

"No way!" Dan shouted, his Dragonoid taking flight while the boy prepared the abilities he'd use.

"Drago, neither you nor any of these other Bakugan will stop me. Shadow Down!"

Naga's palm faced the others, who were all idiotically assembled in one clump. I tried to warn them, but it was too late. A mauve dome generated around them stopping Drago in mid-flight and sealing them inside. All their screams of protest were silenced as the trap was sealed and the truth sank in.

Nicole and the ninja were the only people who'd escaped the dome.

And I was the only Bakugan.

"Now the runt is all that's left between me and what's rightfully mine!" Naga shot me a derisive look and James smirked, goading me into an attack on either of them. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction, however.

I couldn't afford the luxury of being impulsive, not when I was on my own for the time being. Shun was useless without Skyress, and I couldn't do much without Nicole. Talk about being up a creek without a paddle. I silently pleaded, to any higher force willing to listen, that Nicole wake up any second now.

"Eliminate her," James ordered, no trace of his former benevolent self on his face. I braced myself, glaring back rebelliously even if this was my final stand.

Maybe it was the sudden rush of adrenaline and my pointed ears playing tricks on me, but the faint whisper of my name caught my attention. Sharply, I spun around and checked up on Nicole. Okay, so it's generally not the smartest idea to turn your back on the opponent. Still, I didn't hesitate in grinning when she gazed back at me.

"Ready?" I asked, bouncing around on the tips of my feet and cracking my knuckles.

She nodded, standing, but leaning on Shun for support. "Alright, Zora, let's do this," she declared in a convincingly brave voice, though I saw the way her eyes darted nervously toward the dome. "Swords Dance!"

That ability was mine alone, and I immediately felt the one hundred G power boost.

"That useless ability?" James yawned. "You forget, Zora, I know all of your moves."

Damn him. He had a point. As my original partner, he probably knew me better than I knew myself. Every single move I made was accounted for in his memory. This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Double Dimension," he called out lazily, and just like that, I was back at 340 G's.

Nicole seemed to be prepared, though. "Gate card, open! Character!" I'd forgotten she'd set that card, but I wasn't complaining. "And, I'm not done yet, Darkus Enforcer! This lets Zora gain 200 G's if one of her previous abilities is cancelled."

Ha! Sucker! My power skyrocketed to 880 G's. I could feel the Darkus energy flowing through me as invigorating as rain in the desert. Maybe now I might have a chance against Naga. Despite what I'd told myself about being rash, I charged forward, drawing my sword to clash against Naga's giant chest.

The second before the collision Nicole added another of my unique abilities to the mix. "Asteroid Strike!" A simple one, it decreased my opponent's attack by fifty G's and raised mine by the same amount.

"Pathetic. Sicurius Shield!" bellowed Naga. Asteroid Strike was no more, and my sword clashed against Naga's hard body without so much as a scratch. And it didn't stop there.

"Darkus Riot!"

A single purple, burningblast erupted from the diamond on his chest, where he held the core. In an attempt to dodge I jumped up, only receiving the shockwaves of the blow, which had enough strength to know me backwards. I blindly rushed him again, positive Nicole would back me up.

"Dusk Sky!" This was it. Dusk Sky was the last card we had up our sleeves. The colored sky swirled malignantly above me, enveloping the field in a curtain of darkness. With it as my cloak, I attacked Naga, striking him continuously and expertly while agilely evading his scattered assaults.

Luck, however, decided that things were too good for us, and Naga miraculously trained his sights on me, his next blow smashing into me head on. Winded, I hunched over to catch my breath—a sitting duck.

Two more blasts had me facedown on the ground. My mind screamed at me to get up and continue the fight, but my body went on strike and refused to obey. More attacks rained down, and I cried out in pain and…surrender.

"No! Don't do this to her! Please, James, no!" she begged. He laughed in response.

"Zora, listen to me!" she shouted at me, and the positive energy within her surged, fighting off the negative energy swelling within Naga in an attempt to pull the Infinity Core toward it. "Give up now, and it's the end of the line, for me and you."

I didn't move, allowing myself to be bombarded with hit after hit.

"You've got to get up, Zora," the arrogant ninja added. "Are you really so selfish as to give up everything we've fought for?"

_We?_ I barely knew them, and he thought he was going to guilt me into finding some energy to get up?

"You're proving him right." Her voice neared. "This is what he wants, to see us cower, especially you." The light and power inside her boiled, and I took a ragged breath.

"Zora, who's the strong one here?" she asked desperately, near hysterics, suddenly ducking beside me, shaking my shoulder.

The attacks kept coming. Both of us could be taken out together. She crouched by my side, huddled against me, and I knew she was still fighting.

Nicole was weak. It was an irrefutable fact.

But as fragile as she was, there was fight in her.

Still.

I couldn't see her, but I _could_ tell she struggled. She was clashing against the arms that tried to pry her away and get her to safety, and I knew she was stupid enough to stay. She stood up, though the core pressured her to give herself over. She boldly faced her best friend though everyone doubted her.

And this was me, the one that was battling beside her and the one who distrusted her most.

"I need you, too," she murmured in a last ditch effort.

I willed every fiber of my being to stand and fight, ready to push myself as far as I had to, but as it turns out, I didn't have to.

A darkness not caused by an ability card swallowed me, not fueled by my energy, but by the Infinity Core's. In the pitch black I felt wounds heal, scars fade. The weariness vanished and a burst of vigor shot through me like a one-hit KO, short and electrifying. The shadows pushed and pulled, a tide, scalding and freezing, giving and taking.

As quickly as they appeared, the shadows dispersed, leaving me standing tall and smug. I smirked at Nicole and Shun.

"What happened?" she asked wide-eyed, not hiding the grin on her face.

"She evolved," Shun stated simply in response.

I had to admit, though it was a weird feeling going through an evolution, I didn't feel any different now. Sure, I _looked_ different. I mean, I was all sleek and shiny now. The loose clothes tightened, and my sword was gone, in its place an amethyst bow. As I stretched I noticed the jet-black wings that expanded with me. Oh, yeah, _those_ were cool.

"Bring it on, James," I challenged, flexing my wings experimentally. "I'm Twilight Zora and now you don't know what tricks I can pull."

Nicole mirrored my overconfident expression. "Ability card, activate! Cosmic Impact! Watch as Zora gains 100 G's and Naga loses 150 G's."

I flew into the air, positioning myself right above Naga. Then I did a nosedive straight down, arms forward, my body literally becoming a speeding bullet. The impact echoed off the lonely buildings behind us.

"Black Blizzard!" she added, flipping another ability card. I aimed my bow, a large obsidian arrow centered on Naga. I fired it, watching it sail soundlessly through the air all the while splintering and forming more arrows. The sky clouded like at dusk, only a sliver of true light available. Each one hit the mark, cracking Naga's impenetrable armor and making his roar of pain ring out across the docks. The expression on James's face was priceless, mouth open and eye twitching.

The wind picked up suddenly, carrying a raspy whisper. "Hal G," it hissed.

Then, next to Naga a goblin…thing materialized. Please tell me it wasn't another Bakugan.

"Well, James looks like things aren't as easy as you said they would be," he wheezed.

No, wait, it wasn't a Bakugan. Even though he had green skin and abnormal mauve hair and a goatee, he wore glasses and dressed in human clothes. And I thought humans were ugly before!

"Shut up, old man! I can handle this." I attacked Naga for good measure, and he scowled. "Alright, I need help."

Hal G sneered. "As you wish." He held out a cane with bumps protruding on the top, which lit up purple as he summoned them in front of their master. "Bakugan brawl, Paladins stand!"

Five faceless, bulky knights in heavy armor stood, blocking Naga with huge, impenetrable shields. The intricate symbols on their shields meandered around menacing spikes, clearly meant to perforate. Crap.

"Cheaters!" I shouted at all of them.

"Oh, is little Zora finally afraid of playing with the big boys?" James teased. "This is Naga's personal royal guard, the Fifth Paladin, and I dare you to get past them." He stepped back, observing as Naga chortled manically and the guards aimed their sharply points spears that had emerged seemingly out of nowhere at me.

"You know, Nicole, now might be a good time to activate a card," I hinted, picturing the holes those things were going to drill into me shortly.

"Right, Fusion Ability Activate! Dark Abyss!" she lifted a gold card up, and darkness returned, creating an opaque wall around us. Their spears didn't even make a dent, but that still didn't mean I could defeat six Bakugan at once, even with the massive power boost the card gave me. _That_ was just excessive.

"Shun, what do I do?" she asked him as I also tried to think of some way out of this pickle. If we had the other Bakugan it would be easy, but we didn't. They were all currently trapped inside some purple dome that was apparently unbreakable from the inside. The outside was untouched, our chaotic battle not being within close enough proximity to harm it. Maybe… I glanced down and saw a twinkle in the boy's golden eyes.

"Zora," he began, already walking backward toward the dome, "you have to attack the dome. I have a feeling that if you hit the outside enough, it'll break."

I shrugged, scooping the two onto in my hands, so as to not leave them unprotected, and flying up to get a bird's eye view. Naga and his guards continued to attack and I did my best to dodge. I just hoped they didn't decide to follow me.

"Z-Zora," Nicole stammered, lying facedown on my palm. "P-please put me down. I don't—" I sharply turned to the left, causing her to shriek. Shun crouched beside her, not affected in the least by some altitude.

He whispered something I couldn't understand in her ear and gently pulled her to her knees. She shook her head and kept her eyes tightly shut. Please, flying wasn't that bad. It was only dangerous if you were inexperienced.

"Nicole, you have to open you eyes," I scolded. "I can't really attack if I'm holding you, so you'll have to get on my shoulder." Another blast whizzed to my left, and I couldn't wait any longer. Locking eyes with Shun, he nodded, and I tossed them over my shoulder.

Nicole screamed, as was expected, though the boy had a tight hold on her. Swooping in below them, the ninja landed skillfully on my shoulder, and her shrill cry stopped abruptly. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes, and looked upon the dome and Bakugan still trying to shoot me out of the sky.

"You caught us," she said in a low voice.

"I can be unreasonable sometimes, but I won't let you fall," I informed her, seeing an opportunity to strike the dome while the attacks missed by a long-shot.

Again and again, I attacked the dark energy dome, specifically focusing on one area near the top. Naga grew impatient that his assaults continually failed to hit and took things into his own hands. His hidden wings expanded, flapping once and letting his enormous body take flight. I tried not to panic as I aimed my bow, shooting an arrow at the weakened area. Nothing happened.

Naga laughed, closing in on me. I skirted the perimeter of the dome, hoping to nick him from behind with another arrow. Instead, it happened in reverse. He snuck up behind me, which I find difficult to swallow since Naga is huge, and his claws settled themselves around my neck. I squirmed, shrugging to give Shun the hint to get off.

"No, you don't," Naga responded, plucking the humans off with his free appendage, squeezing them in his palm.

Both should have been terrified because he was mostly likely going to crush the life out of them, but instead Nicole had this strange expression on her face and Shun looked determined to break free.

"Let her go!" Shun shouted, his gaze flashing between the dome below and Naga in front.

My breath was coming in short gasps now, and I began to feel lightheaded. "Don't…give him…anything." I choked out, tearing at his claws. Then my vision flickered. One minute it was Naga's hideous face, the next it was black. His hold tightened on us, and I slowly lost the energy to continue.

A gut-wrenching crack resounded through the air at that moment. At first, I thought he'd finally snapped my neck, but everything didn't go black all at once, and Naga's grip actually loosened. I scrambled out of his grasp, holding my neck, and gasping for breath.

A fire ball shot past me, colliding with the huge dragon, and sending the two humans spiraling downward. After clearing my vision, I dove, yanking Shun up by his shirt and dragging Nicole up with him. I inspected the released Bakugan, who stared back equally mystified.

"This ends now, Naga," Drago spoke.

"Alright, Battle Brawlers, let's take him down!" Dan shouted.

A plethora of attacks combined, each team present lending a voice to the cause. Bakugan and humans of all shapes and sizes let themselves be heard, uniting against a common enemy. For a moment, I held back, just staring at James and how he seemed to accept where this was headed. His emerald eyes stared back, not showing anger, but resignation and something else. Hope? Maybe this was how it was meant to be.

Nicole didn't push me into an attack. She, in a sense, was resigning herself, too. The choices we'd made were irreversible, binding us to the future we'd once dreaded. She and I observed, if not serenely, then at peace. The damage mounted, encompassing the area with smoke, and even though I knew it was quite the opposite, I heard the silence. There was no final cry from Naga, James, the guards or even Hal-G, only quiet. The destruction was inevitable, and after the explosion, the last thing that faded into the smoke was a matching set of jade.

The humans cheered. It wasn't over, though. Not yet. The Silent Core was not destroyed along with Naga, since its energy still pulsed through the area, stronger than before. Nicole leaned against my leg, and the Infinity Core throbbed in sync with it's other half.

Then it emerged. The Silent Core pushed its way through the devastation, swiftly following the pull of the Infinity Core. Nicole looked straight forward and the others watched in horror and awe as the cores met…within the girl.

She didn't hit the floor this time, but the light was, if possible, more spectacular and blinding than before. I leaped back, joining the team, as Nicole was consumed in the bright, multicolored light. When it dimmed slightly, we all glanced back and found her suspended in the air, a circle of brightness surrounding her form.

Alarm bells went off even before Wayvern chose to speak. "This is impossible. Both cores have combined inside the girl." She explained to the humans who all stared, dumbstruck.

"That's not all," Gorem added. "The energy levels are spiking to inconceivable levels."

"In English, please!" Julie trilled.

"Julie, I think he means that the power created is too great for Nicole," Marucho concluded.

Skyress spoke this time. "Marucho is right. Power like this was never meant to be in the possession of a human, and it will overwhelm her if something isn't done."

"Overwhelm?" Runo repeated.

"She will die, Runo," Tigrerra explained. "We do not have much time."

Dan interjected angrily, addressing everyone. "Well, what do we do? Sit around and wait? Drago there has to be something we can do."

"I am unsure, Dan. It would be too dangerous to send another human in there—" The Dragonoid looked pointedly at Shun "—but maybe if one of us went it would…"

This was ridiculous. How could they sit around talking like that when Nicole had minutes, maybe even seconds, left? The light constantly dimmed and brightened, and the power fluctuated as her body was enveloped inside the shell. She looked content, but a human wasn't going to last long under that pressure.

It was now or never.

Before I could reconsider, I rushed forward, wings outstretched, ready to jump into certain death.

"Zora, wait!" Dan called out. "You don't know what'll happen if you go in there."

He and Drago approached, preparing to wrench me back. I raised an eyebrow and forced myself ahead, shoving against the cores that tried to keep me away.

"The hell with it!"

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Hooray, almost done! Only the epilogue to go. Oh, and props to whoever laughed at the LK reference! Cookies if you tell me what episode it is! I'm a nerd…

_**Anyway, remember to review! That means you! **_

_**Cocoacharm15 **_


	15. Epilogue

_**Time to tie up loose ends. This is what you've all been waiting for. The epilogue. I'd just like to thank everyone who had reviewed, kept up with the story, added this to alerts/favorites. You guys mean the world to me…or close enough XD**_

_**Disclaimer: For the last time in this story, I do not own Bakugan :(**_

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Epilogue

**Zora's POV**

Jumping straight into the core vortex probably wasn't the smartest move I've made. Drastic times, however, call for drastic measures.

Of course, it was no picnic. Forcing your way through the perfect balance of negative and positive energy was harder than you might imagine. If one core was powerful, then imagine two of them merging.

See what I mean?

I'm not sure what I expected when I finally got into the middle. Maybe to spontaneously combust. Or maybe to just fall unconscious like Nicole was. I certainly wasn't anticipating to just stand there next to her body.

Strangely, when I looked out toward the others, I only saw perfection. It seemed as if the entire battle hadn't happened. The sun in the clear, azure sky glittered above the ocean, and the town appeared completely repaired. It wasn't like that in reality, and I reached for the girl's arm to drag her out by force.

The moment I touched her skin a feeling of nausea shot through me, and I shut my eyes against it. When I opened them again, I wasn't in the orb looking out anymore. I'd been transported to another perfect scene.

It was a meadow framed by oaks and teeming with life. The bright sunlight rained down and drenched every creature in sight, including a girl. She sat with her back to me staring off at the horizon.

"Zora?" she asked quietly, turning to face me with a smile. She patted the grass next to her, signaling for me to join her.

Hesitantly, I approached and sat next to this calm version of Nicole. Ever since this whole mess had started, she'd been constantly anxious. It's not like there were any moments of peace, anyway.

We sat in silence for a moment, Nicole gazing at something in the distance, and me staring at her. She looked different somehow. Perhaps it was the way her brow was smooth, instead of furrowed in confusion or fear. Or it could've been the slight curve of her lips. The tense stillness unnecessarily drew itself out before she spoke again.

"You know, it's a lot different here than out there. There's harmony, and everything feels right." She sighed contentedly.

"Yes, you're right," I agreed, sensing the easygoingness of the place. Then a thought struck me. "Wait, does that mean that you know what's going on?" It came out sounding more accusatory than I had planned.

Nicole didn't flinch, like she would have normally. "I know perfectly well what's going on. The two cores are within me."

"You're also aware that if we don't something, you'll die, right?" I asked pointedly.

She shrugged, hinting to me that it didn't bother her either way.

"Nicole!" I yelled. "This isn't about you. I'm in here, too, and who knows if I'll make it out alive." She glanced impassively at me. "And what about earth and Vestroia? Are you going to let them collapse on each other?"

"Did something Shun said actually get through to you?" she questioned, grinning innocently.

Little smart-ass. A little peace and suddenly she thinks she can win an argument against me? Hell no.

Jumping to my feet, I picked her up by the tops of her arms and suspended her above the ground. Her dark eyes narrowed, her lips pressed together into a thin line.

"Listen closely, Nicole," I whispered menacingly. "For one, I don't care what twisted wonderland this is because the outside world could easily mimic if the core was in its rightful place. And for two, I willingly entered the cores to save you."

I dropped her, and she landed with a thud. I expanded my wings and beat them once before I was airborne. If Nicole wasn't coming then I had to get myself out of here. I'd made it miles away from her when the sky morphed from a crystalline blue to a midnight black. As the forest below was swallowed by darkness, I pressed forward, searching for an exit. Then I was falling, grasping at invisible hands, until I hit rock bottom.

---

**Nicole's POV**

My mind and body felt disconnected, and I couldn't find the strength to sit up. Oddly, though, I felt free, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Slowly, thoughts straightened themselves out, and I opened my eyes. The sky churned in unnatural colors, obviously a sign that things weren't right yet.

A pair of amber eyes appeared over me, and I recognized Shun. He lifted me to my feet, and I noticed that none of them spoke.

"What's going on?" I asked. "The cores—"

"They are in my possession now, Nicole. Thank you for holding on to them," Drago interrupted, and I sighed, relieved. Sure enough, a shiny diamond was centered on his body, presumably to hold them.

That explained why I felt so calm before. I didn't have them.

I'd survived.

I clearly remembered the blunt arguments Zora had used to convince me. She'd saved me from giving in to my selfish desires.

"Where's Zora?"

Dan looked troubled as he approached and placed her sphere in my cupped hands. "She hasn't said a thing since she got out of there."

I examined her closed form. "Zora?" I prompted. No response. This wasn't happening. "Zora!?"

The Darkus Bakugan whirled around to turn her back on me. Reassured, I smiled a bit.

"Zora, I'm sorry. I was being stubborn, even though I knew you were right. Thank you for helping me…again."

Silence greeted my apology for the first few second.

"You're such an idiot sometimes, you know?" she mentioned facetiously as she turned and hopped on my shoulder.

"I know." I agreed, everyone else chuckling at the exchange.

I studied the docks, well, what remained of the docks. It was chaos: upturned pavement, crates tossed into the sea, the tide crawling up a concrete shore. The only remnant of Naga's existence was a scorch mark seared into the cement. Hal G, the strange gremlin guy, had seemingly disappeared. Shun explained to me that he'd been Alice's grandfather, and sure enough, an aging scientist stood next to a beaming Alice.

If only everyone had a happy ending…

I knew what James's fate had been. I didn't have to see his lifeless body resting beside the charred evidence to realize it.

Just desserts, I suppose. For faking his death, his punishment was actual death. An eye for an eye. I approached his body and took a seat beside it. The sneer had been replaced with the beginnings of a serene smile. His blonde hair fell into his eyes, and I gently pushed his fringe to the side. The jade eyes were closed, and I almost lifted an eyelid to see them once more, but Zora held me back.

"Let's go," she suggested, voice strangely congested. "We're not done yet."

I drifted back toward the others who had apologies ready on their tongues.

"Don't," I stated numbly.

"We don't need you pity," Zora added harshly.

"We?" I repeated disbelievingly.

"Yes, _we_," Zora reiterated, slighted.

Dan laughed and soon everyone joined in. It seemed as if we were comic relief now.

"Yay, now we can celebrate! We should have a huge party down at Marucho's place. We'll invite everyone and—"

"Julie," Gorem interrupted. "Our job isn't finished yet. I looked quickly at Zora. She'd said something along those lines earlier, right?

"What's he talking about, Drago?" Dan asked, his fiery gaze flickering between one Bakugan and the next.

His Bakugan floated in front of him. "Dan, we still have to return the perfect core to Vestroia. If not, out worlds will continue to merge."

"Then why don't you just drop off the core, Drago?" Runo inquired, her Tigrerra answering instead of the Dragonoid.

"It isn't so simple, Runo."

"Drago can't just leave the core there," informed Preyas, flitting in front of the Brawlers.

"Drago will become the core of Vestroia," Skyress detailed. "He will not be able to return and… neither will we."

"But Skyress, are you sure there isn't another way?" Shun asked urgently from his place beside me.

"I'm sorry, Shun. There isn't."

Running a hand through his chestnut hair, Dan suddenly yelled, "Are you kidding me, Drago? How…how can you tell me you're never coming back?"

His eyes glistened, and he let a few tears escape. Everyone else copied the expression of anger and sadness on Dan's face. So this was what she meant. Zora said nothing as she watched parents comfort their children, and I wondered what mine were up to. I rubbed the back of my hand against my eyes, brushing tears away.

Another hand took mine gently, and I closed my fingers around it. Looking up, I saw his golden eyes fixed on his Bakugan before him. They shined as brightly as the sun.

It'd be alright.

---

"So I guess this is it?" I asked her, sitting on a tall, grassy field overlooking the entire city. The rest of the Brawlers had each picked a spot to say goodbye. This was the end of the line. Each one shared a last heartfelt moment with their partners because, after this, we'd never see them again.

Zora floated in front of me in her spherical form, ebony wings flapping reflexively. "Yep, this is where we part ways."

I'd never pictured myself a Brawler, playing the game and actually liking it. I also hadn't imagined that a Bakugan as…difficult—let's put it that way—as Zora would be my partner. We were opposites, clashing in every form and aspect possible. She and James shared the perfect partnership, and when we were forced together, teamwork seemed unfeasible. Yet at the end of the road, there wasn't anyone else that I would've shared this experience with.

"I just wanted to say—"

"That I'm awesome. Deep down you really love me. You couldn't have done it without me. Don't worry, I know, Nicole," she bragged for me, and I rolled my eyes at the smirk I heard in her voice.

"What I was going to say was that you treated me like crap, didn't care one bit about me, and worst of all, you were unbelievably frank about everything to the point where I felt like crying." She stayed silent, and I continued. "But you _are_ awesome, Zora, and I didn't realize it until a few hours ago. You forced me to quit being pathetic, and without your help, I don't think I could've stayed sane through it all. Thank you."

"And?" she encouraged, nudging my hand with a wing.

I huffed, rolling my eyes dramatically. "And I suppose, I do love you a little bit." I added, poking her playfully.

"That's better," she conceded. "Since it's my turn to pour my heart out, I'd just like to say that you're not as bad a person as I made you out to be." Zora landed on the ground next to me.

"That's it?" I asked incredulously. "I give a gut-wrenching speech, and that's all you have to say back?"

"Well, there is one more thing," she said. "Most of the Bakugan that entered your world can't say they've had two partners. I can. And out of you and James, I think I prefer you."

That was all I was getting out of her, apparently. For Zora, it was emotional enough, and I beamed in response.

"Oh, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Yes?"

"What exactly did the ninja tell you when we were flying?" she questioned brazenly.

I laughed. "It was nothing really." She snorted skeptically. "He just reminded me that you were watching."

---

At some point later that day, I shot her into Vestroia for the fourth and final time. Immediately, the effects of the core were seen. The sky brightened and the edginess vanished, leaving behind only the memories we'd created alongside the Bakugan. As far as I know, Zora didn't cry, although I can't say the same about myself.

After they were gone, I pocketed the picture of the Brawlers that Runo's parents had taken and wandered the streets of Wardington in a daze. Shun caught up with me soon after, and the sorrow did, too. I bawled my eyes out as he held me, sobbing for everything I'd gained and lost these past few hours.

Days later I attended James's burial. Again. His parents knew nothing of it.

He was laid to rest in a quiet cemetery in the States. It sparkled with new life while I mourned an old one. Tulips cheerfully swayed in the breeze, growing against the odds. I stared at his unmarked tombstone, wondering how it would've turned out had he lived the first time around.

I wouldn't be here, noticing how the tombstone eroded slightly or how the moss edged over the entire thing. I wouldn't have bonded with Zora, who occupied my thoughts everyday. I wouldn't have reached out to Shun, who gave me a chance.

Sometimes, I feel wronged, as if James didn't deserve what had happened to him. But is there is something to karma, fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, this adventure worked out. And life will go on in the same manner, fixing itself at every turn. After that episode, I couldn't see or sense the future anymore, but I that doesn't mean I can't be sure about it.

Now more than ever I'm positive that everything happens for a reason, even if we don't realize or appreciate it. And the only thing to do is learn from it, and let others teach you.

**Fin**

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OMG! It's finally over. Again, thanks to everyone who gave this story a chance and thanks for all your encouragement!

_**This is the time to let your voice be heard! Everyone leave one final review to tell me how much you loved (or hated) it. And, if you all fell in love with Nicole, then you have to speak! Who knows, maybe a sequel is in the future, if that's what the people want ;)**_


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